


Love Is in the Air

by elenam



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-07-06 00:32:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15874875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenam/pseuds/elenam
Summary: Two strangers, one delayed flight and a blossoming relationship.orTessa and Scott are strangers who meet in an airport for the first time when their flight to Austria is delayed. Sparks fly as lightning bolts strike the sky!





	1. When Lightning Strikes

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Here it is, my new AU story featuring our favorites skaters. I hope you all enjoy!

_Attention to all passengers for flight L-9876 to Vienna, Austria. We are very sorry to announce that the 12:20 AM flight has been delayed due to the current weather conditions. All other flights departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport are delayed until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience. The plane should be able take off later during the night, we will keep you informed. For any question, do not hesitate to ask one of our employees at the desk. Thank you for choosing Lufthansa airlines._

“Oh no,” a disappointed Tessa whispered under her breath as she heard the news coming off from one of the airport’s waiting room’s speakers. How could her flight be delayed because of the thunderstorms? It was pretty ugly outside, but she thought that nowadays planes could practically get through anything without any problem. She had flung on many planes in her life and in many conditions. She could take a little rain, no? What harm could it do?

As if the universe wanted to prove her wrong, the whole night sky was instantly illuminated bright white by a flash of lighting that fell somewhere in the distance. The lights of the airport flashed a few times before they all turned off simultaneously. A loud grumble of thunder followed almost immediately. A few seconds later, the lights turned on again, accompanied by a loud humming. Tessa realized with a pang that the generators had probably started working to supply the building with electricity. The thunderstorm had very likely created a power shortage.

So maybe, considering the circumstances, she did prefer staying on the ground, at least until the thunderstorms stopped that is. Rain, that she could manage.

Another loud grumble of thunder rang in her ears again, powerful enough to make the baby who was seating in her mother’s lap next to her burst in tears. The poor little girl seemed really afraid of the lightning and thunder and Tessa couldn’t blame her. It was scary out there.

Sending a sympathetic smile to the powerless mother, Tessa sighed and took out her phone to get a look at the weather forecast. The hourly predictions were for thunderstorms for at least the next three hours. It seemed like she was in for a very long night before she could board her plane and fly to Austria.

She debated asking to have her flight changed and instead take a hotel room for the night, but the option was no longer a good one when she realized that there were only two flights a week to Vienna, the next one being three days later. She could always take another plane to a neighbour country and then a train to Vienna and then Linz, but it would make her journey much longer and she had lots of business appointments already planned in Linz, the Austrian city where she was really going. She couldn’t miss them nor report them. So she guessed that her only valid option was to wait for her flight, whenever that would be.

With a resigned sigh, she headed towards the bar of the lounge. One of the good things about flying business was that she could at least enjoy the lounge while waiting for her plane instead of having to sit in an uncomfortable faux leather chair, squeezed between people who snored, listened to music too loudly or smelled of strong perfume. She felt bad for the people who didn’t have her chance and would have to wait in the over-crowded waiting area for most of the night.

Appreciating her luck, Tessa took a seat on one of the two empty bar stools, hoping she could drink something and then find a comfortable chair to doze off a little until her flight. She was absolutely drained.

It had only been a little more than six months since she had started her own business of fashion consulting. She had always loved both the world of business and fashion and she had always dreamed of owning her very own company. As a fashion consultant, her job was to help clients develop their personal image or brand and she absolutely loved it.

As thrilled as she was with her new job, she was also unbelievably tired. It took a lot of her energy, especially since she was still new in the business and she wanted to make her mark, to get people to know her, but that needed a lot of time and left her completely exhausted.

She was supposed to meet consultants for business in Linz. She had clients, Austrian clients, who were launching a new jewelry line in Montreal and wanted her advice on how to popularize it and expand their success. She was planning on going to Linz to meet with one of her contacts there who had offered help on the matter. She just hoped the weather would allow her to get there on time.

Wanting to ease down the anxiety that the idea of missing her appointments brought her, Tessa ordered a glass of white wine at the bar.

“And a beer for me,” added a male voice as someone sat on the free stool next to her.

As soon as the man sat, his phone rang and he answered it quickly, running a hand through his hair; “Hello Laura, I knew you’d call, but I have bad news for you. My flight has been delayed, but don’t worry, I’ll catch the next one as soon as I can and Marie and Patch are there so they can be with you today,”

The man rubbed at the back of his neck nervously; “No, I know it’s your first Grand Prix and I really wish I could be there too, but there are terrible storms here in Toronto and no planes can fly for now. I promise I’ll do my best to be there as soon as possible,”

There was a pause, the man obviously listening to this Laura, his girlfriend maybe. From what Tessa overheard, she seemed a little agitated at hearing the news.

The man did his best to calm her; “Yes, I’ll call you as soon as I have more info alright? Yes, bye,”

He hung up and took a large gulp of his beer before finally noticing Tessa who had been listening to his whole phone call. When she noticed she had been caught eavesdropping, Tessa blushed; “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to listen to your call like that,”

The guy dismissed her apology with a wave of the hand, “Ah, no big deal, I had bad news to deliver” the guy chuckled, “Are you waiting for the Vienna flight too?” he guessed and Tessa nodded.

“Yes, how unfortunate that we can’t fly tonight. I really wish the storms will die down and that we’ll be able to take off soon,” Tessa replied, eyeing the man and taking in his appearance for the first time.

He was really good looking. His hair was just long enough that it had a good flow, but not too long that it flipped at the base of his neck, something she hated. He had pretty warm brown eyes and he was quite built, but the most mesmerizing thing about him was his smile; a contagious warming smile that made her feel like she could instantly trust him no matter what.

“Are you flying there for vacation?” the guy asked her with interest.

Tessa shook her head, “No, I’m actually going to Linz for business. I’ll catch a train from Vienna. I have consultants to meet there for a job,” Tessa explained. “What about you?” she asked. She was truly intrigued by this man who sat next to her. She had always been a curious person and the phone call the guy had just made intrigued her. It seemed like he was joining his girlfriend in Austria for a grand prix or something. It must have been a competition of some sort, car race maybe?

“That’s a coincidence! I’m going to Linz for business too,” he said, a surprised expression on his face, “I’m a figure skating coach actually, ice dancing, and there’s a competition over there this week-end.”

Tessa must have let the shock appear on her face because the man instantly added; “I know, I get that look often. It’s not what people expect when they ask me about my job,” he shook his head, “I, I really love it. I was a figure skater myself when I was younger and now I’m giving back to the community I guess,”

“I’m not shocked, just surprised. I did figure skating when I was younger too,” Tessa replied, truly impressed learning about the guy’s job.

“You must be familiar with the skating world then!” the man exclaimed.

“Quite a bit. I still watch competitions on TV whenever I can. I really loved following the Olympics in February,” Tessa smiled.

“I’m actually going to Linz for a Junior Grand Prix event. I teach a young ice dance team, Laura and Xavier. It’s their first international big event and I really hope I’m going to make it on time for them,” the man said and Tessa smiled.

Grand Prix, of course, figure skating, not car race! She just wouldn’t have guessed that from the first look she had gotten of the man.

She loved how he really seemed to care about his skaters. He didn’t have the typical profile of a skating coach, at least according to her personal experience that is, but just after a few minutes of talking to him, Tessa knew that he was probably really good at his job.

“I think we should keep faith. Those thunderstorms are bound to stop and I’m sure we’ll take off soon after that,” Tessa smiled, trying to encourage herself as much as her newly found companion for the night.

“Thank you, hum, sorry, I don’t think I caught your name,” the man apologized.

“No of course, I’m Tessa,” she said, extending her hand to shake.

“Nice to meet you Tessa, and I’m Scott,” he presented himself, taking her hand to shake.

“Well it was really nice to meet you too Scott,” Tessa smiled, looking him in the eyes.

There was just something in so inviting in his eyes that she didn’t realize for a moment that he had yet to let go of her hand. He too seemed lost in her eyes and the thought filled Tessa with a warm feeling.

However, the moment was over when the thunder made everything shake around them, taking them both by surprise. Scott let go of her hand quickly, rubbing at his jeans and looking nervous.

“Hum, do you want another one?” Scott asked her and Tessa looked at him, confused.

“A glass of wine?” he specified.

Tessa looked at her glass and she was surprised to see that she had already finished her drink. Talking with Scott had been so pleasant that she hadn’t realize that time was flying by so quickly.

She shot a quick look outside to see the rain still pouring down and lightning striking the sky. It didn’t seem like she was leaving that airport anything time soon, so why not?

“Yes please,” Tessa accepted with a smile.

Scott made a sign to the bartender who immediately went to prepare their drinks. As they were waiting to be served, Scott asked more about her.

“So, are you from Toronto?” he asked.

Tessa shook her head, “No, I’m actually from London, but now I live in Montreal. There was no flight to Austria from the Montreal airport this week so I took a plane this afternoon to here and now, well you know the rest.”

Tessa thanked the server as a new glass of Chardonnay was set in front of her. She took a sip of her drink and then looked at Scott as she realized he had yet to reply to her.

“What?” Tessa asked as she saw Scott eyeing her in a weird way, “Montreal is not that bad. I really love it there actually,” she said quite defensively. Who was he to judge where she was from? London was where she had been born, but Montreal was the city that had wooed her. After doing a two-month internship during her college years, Tessa had been convinced that it was where she was destined to stay and spend her life. As a kid, she had always dreamed of living in Paris. The French Canadian metropole was as close as it could get without having to be too far from her family. She hoped that Scott wasn’t one of those uptight Ontarian who thought that anything outside his province wasn’t worth it.

“I know Montreal is not that bad, it’s pretty great actually. I was just surprised because I’m from Montreal too. Actually was born in Ilderton. How crazy is that?” Scott looked at her in disbelief.

Tessa was quite taken aback by that. So they were both from the same region in Ontario and now both lived in Montreal. What a coincidence it was!

“It is crazy indeed,” she voiced out her thoughts.

“How come you moved from London to Montreal? Was it for work?” Scott asked.

Tessa shrugged; “Kind of, I actually did a couple months in Montreal for an internship during my MBA and when I started looking for the perfect place to start my own company it just seemed like the perfect fit.”

“Your own company, eh?” Scott said surprised and intrigued.

“Yeah, I’m a fashion consultant. People come to me to help build their brand or their image. I, when I finished school I thought I’d realize that dream of me. Ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to own my own thing,” Tessa explained, poorly hiding her pride.

She couldn’t help it. She was so proud of her company. Yes, she was the only employee for the time being and yes her office was a tiny one room local, but it was hers and only hers. She had had helped from her ex-boyfriend’s father to start, but now her company was up and running and she was almost completely independent. She loved it.

“That’s really great. I’m impressed. It takes a lot of drive to start your own thing,” Scott said.

“What about you? How come you ended up living in Québec?” Tessa asked, genuinely interested at knowing more about what had brought Scott to Montreal.

“Well, I coach ice dancing and the best ice dancing school in the world right now is in Montreal,”

Tessa nodded, familiar with the subject. She had read all about it during the Olympics, truly fascinated to know just how well Canadians were succeeding in the skating world.

“And well, Marie-France and Patrice, the owners of the school if you want, they asked me to coach with them. It’s only been 3 years so I teach mainly juniors and novice teams, but I really love it. In fact, I have to admit that I might love it more than skating itself,” he continued.

“Yeah, the Gadbois ice rink, no?” Tessa asked, already suspecting the answer.

“Yes, you’ve heard about it?” Scott asked, surprised.

Tessa nodded; “I huh, read about it this winter.”

“Yeah, there was a lot of publicity because of the Olympics. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go to Pyeong Chang, but I’m aiming to take Laura and Xavier to Bejing in 2022,”

“Wow, I really hope you’ll succeed,” Tessa smiled and Scott thanked her.

She was about to add more, but before she could stop herself, a soft yawn escaped her lips. She blushed as she realized Scott had caught her and was now yawning in return. Those things were contagious.

Tessa looked at her phone and realized it was already two in the morning. She had woken up at 5 in the morning and that made 21 hours since she had last slept. Plus, she hadn’t been sleeping more than a few hours a day since she had started her company. She was completely exhausted; “I’m sorry Scott, I’m just a little tired.”

Scott smile; “No worries, I’m a little tired too,” he admitted.

He motioned towards a quiet corner of the lounge where there were two comfy looking cushioned chairs; “Why don’t we go over there and try to have some rest?” he suggested and Tessa felt a little uncertain.

It was weird, no? Resting with that guy she didn’t even know? Sure they had talked and he was charming and everything she was looking for in a guy, but she didn’t really know him that much. They were just two strangers who coincidentally shared a lot in common. He was really good looking, but she wasn’t sure if she should spend more time with him than she already had. She wasn’t ready to be in any sort of a relationship with any man after the way things had ended with James, her ex-boyfriend. She didn’t even know if Scott was single or slightly interested, but she didn’t want to give him any ideas. Resting with him in a secluding corner of the airport wasn’t what she could describe as casual behaviour between two strangers.

However, she was saved by the intercom because as soon as she was about to reject Scott’s suggestion in what would have probably been an awkward manner, the speakers announced what they had all been waiting for; “ _We are glad to announce that the thunderstorms have now stopped and that flights should be able to depart any time soon, the first one being L-9876 to Vienna, Austria. We are again really sorry for any inconvenience. The boarding will start in fifteen minutes for business and first class. Thank you for choosing Lufthansa airlines._


	2. Turbulence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little turbulence brings two strangers closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go people! 
> 
> I already post chapter 2 because this story doesn't seem to catch people's interest that much so I wanted to test the waters with a second chapter before I put too much work into finishing it :) Please, please, please let me know what you think of it! I want to write things that interest people so if it doesn't let me know and I'll try coming with a new storyline, but if you do like it tell me also because it would really please me! Thank you!

Scott put his carry-on under his seat before collapsing in his blue leather chair tiredly. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the time on his phone; half pass two in the morning and he had been up since 6 o’clock the morning before. It was way too many hours without any sleep. The delayed flight thing was not something he had expected.

Since it was 2:30 in the morning in Toronto, it meant that it was already 8:30 in Linz. Laura had called him when she was waking up at six. Her and Xavier were at the rink and had probably started their morning practice since then.

Scott felt bad that he was missing their first practice ever at an international event. He remembered how he had himself felt really excited about his first grand prix back in the days. He hadn’t slept well for weeks before. He knew he would have felt pretty unsettled if his coach had been amiss.

He knew that Marie-France and Patrice were there for Laura and Xavier, but it wasn’t the same. Yes, they were extraordinary coaches. They had been his coaches after all, but Laura and Xavier were his kids. He had been their main coach ever since they had first walked into the Gadbois ice rink and Scott knew that the kids trusted him more than anyone.

At least he was finally on the plane and he would be Austria in no time. He just had to catch some sleep to be fully ready to function once in Europe. He wouldn’t miss a single minute of practice once in Linz.

Still, the delayed flight thing didn’t only have negative consequences. It had led to his encounter with Tessa after all. He didn’t know what it was, but there was something about her that simply fascinated him. He had known her for a total of three hours and yet he felt really disappointed when the announcement had come that they could board their plane. He wished he had more time to talk with her, maybe even ask for her number. They were living in the same city. It wasn’t as if he was going after some unattainable woman who lived across the world.

But would she have found it weird if he had asked her number? He didn’t really know. His life as an athlete had been hectic when he was younger and he had never really found the time to date. Things hadn’t been really smoother ever since he was a coach and he had completely neglected that side of his life. There was something about Tessa that made him want to try though. Too bad he was probably never going to see her again.

But apparently, faith had decided that he and Tessa were not done yet because as soon as he had resigned himself to the idea that she would stay a friendly encounter in the airport, Tessa herself appeared next to him.

“Hey stranger,” she said shyly as she showed him her boarding pass, “Apparently we’ll be neighbours for the next seven hours,”

Scott couldn’t believe how lucky he was. That was it, he had a second chance and this time he wasn’t going to blow it. “I couldn’t be happier to know that I’ll be stuck with you instead of an old smelly man,” he joked.

He was incredibly happy, too happy, to see that it ignited a smile from Tessa.

“I’m glad I can be of service then,” she said. She carefully stashed her carry-on in the compartment above their seats before taking place in the seat right next to Scott’s and clipping her seatbelt.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and try to convince Tessa that he was worth a dinner and a movie, the flight attendant chose this moment to start her speech about security measures.

Scott only half-listened, watching Tessa in the corner of his eyes. She was so beautiful. Even with a face bare of any make-up and dressed in black leggings and a fitting dark purple jacket, she was breathtaking. There was just a natural beauty in her and he loved that she didn’t feel the need to conceal it behind layers of foundation.

When the security speech ended, the plane took some speed along the tarmac and prepared for the take-off. It was not the right time to ask somebody out, especially since it was the part of a flight that Scott hated the most, even more than landing. He hated when the plane sped up and shook, when the force of the take-off pushed him back in his seat forcefully and he felt like his head was light and his ears buzzing.

As soon as the plane reached its cruising speed and Scott’s head stopped feeling so weird, he took in a big breath and tried to find the courage to ask Tessa out.

He opened his mouth, but was cut before he had a chance to say anything.

“I think I’m going to try and sleep a little,” Tessa said as she reclined her chair and spread out the white wool blanket she had brought with her.

Scott simply nodded, “Alright, good night,”

“Good night,” she replied before turning her head to the side and closing her eyes.

Scott sighed, disappointed, before shaking his head. No, it wasn’t that bad. It was a seven-hours flight. He had plenty of time to make more conversation with her until she was convinced to accept his offer of going to dinner with him.

A yawn escaped his lips and he realized that he was completely drained too. He took out his travel pillow and reclined his seat, knowing that he should sleep if he wanted to be completely focused once in Linz. He needed his full attention to be the perfect coach for Laura and Xavier and that started with a little rest.

He closed his eyes and willed sleep to come. It came faster than he thought. He drifted out of consciousness with thoughts of taking Tessa out in Montreal, her meeting his friends, him taking her to the rink.

* * *

 

 

 

Scott woke up suddenly maybe one or two hours later. At first, he didn’t know what had woken him, so he tried to readjust his small travel pillow and find a more comfortable position to let the sleep come once again.

Suddenly, the plane shook and dropped a couple of feet as it passed a turbulence zone, making Scott’s heart miss a bond. Yup, that was probably what had woken him up.

He flipped open the blind of the porthole and looked outside. It was too dark to really see anything, but he could guess that the plane was going through some storms.

Once again, the plane shook and dropped quickly, which made Scott grip his seat tightly. He heard a kid start to cry farther in the back of the plane and, next to him, Tessa woke up, an anxious look on her face.

“What’s happening?” she asked him, looking around.

Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. We are currently going through a zone of heavy turbulence. Please go back to your seat, fasten your seatbelt and put your seat in an upright position. We’ll let you know when we’ll be out of the turbulence zone.

Scott looked around a little anxiously. People were quickly going back to their seat or waking up. Flight attendants were going through the alleys, making sure everybody’s seatbelt was fastened and that no bag or anything else was in danger of falling or causing any harm.

He himself sat upright and put on his seatbelt before noticing that Tessa had a little trouble with hers.

“Hurgh,” she complained, “I don’t know why it won’t just click,”

“Here, let me help,” he offered kindly.

She let him take care of it and as he did so, he noticed that her hands were shaking a little. He frowned, “Hey Tessa, we’ll be alright, it’s just a little turbulence.”

She took in a big breath, “I know, I’m sorry. No matter how many planes I take, I always get really anxious when there is turbulence. I’m sorry.”

Scott fastened her seatbelt carefully before looking at her intently, “It’s okay Tessa. No need to apologize. I can’t say that I like this very much either.”

Tessa said him a grateful smile and was about to reply when Scott felt like the plane was free falling for a few seconds. Next to him, Tessa let out a small whimper and squeezed her eyes shut.

“It’s alright,” He barely had time to finish his sentence before the plane started shaking harder than he had ever experienced in his life. As an athlete, he had taken his fair share of planes, but this was by far the most turbulence he had ever gone through. He wanted to appear calm for Tessa, but it was getting difficult to keep up appearances when he was also terrified.

The planed dropped a few feet again and this time the plane passengers let out a collective gasp. The plane was at an angle of 45 degrees and Scott could see people gripping their armrests tensely. A couple of kids were crying and Scott couldn’t blame them. If he hadn’t been a grown-up man trying to woo a stranger, he would have been tempted to do the same!

When the plane took its biggest free fall of the night, Tessa cried out in fear and Scott took her hand reflexively in his. They both held on to the other as if their lives depended on it.

The turbulence lasted another long ten minutes before it finally died down. During all the time they spent in the storm, Scott never let go of Tessa’s hand and neither did she. He glanced at her a couple of times to make sure she was hanging there, but he had a hard time telling since her eyes were squeezed shut tightly.

Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. We have now left the turbulence zone. Please keep your seatbelt on as long as the sign is on. We should turn it off in a couple of minutes.

Hearing the captain say that they were likely out of the woods flooded Scott with relief.

Next to him, Tessa opened her eyes, but didn’t let go of his hand, still keeping it in a tight grip that almost hurt.

“You alright there?” Scott asked with care.

She looked at him, eyes unfocused for a moment before she seemed to realize her predicament. Blushing, she let go of his hand quickly and extended herself in apology; “I am so sorry Scott. I didn’t mean to crush your hand like that, I, I guess I just got really scared and, god, I hope I didn’t hurt you. I, I’m so sorry”

“It’s okay Tessa. I’m not gonna lie; I needed your hand as much as you needed mine,” he said sincerely, hoping she’d stop feeling bad for having shown a little vulnerability. He was glad she had taken his hand first because he truly wasn’t lying, he really had needed her as much as she needed him.

“Yeah but I’m sorry if I hurt you or,”

Scott stopped her mid-sentence, “Please stop apologizing. It was a quite terrifying moment and I’m just happy it is over with. I really don’t mind that you took my hand,” he assured her, but she didn’t look that much convinced. “You wanna get back to sleep?” Scott suggested kindly, thinking that maybe she wanted to rest some more and forget about the scary moment they had just gone through.

Tessa shook her head forcefully; “No, I doubt I’d be able to fall asleep just now. I, I’m sorry again. Planes scare me no matter I many times I flew on one.”

Scott waved his hand to dismiss her apology, “Why don’t we watch a movie, eh? To take our minds off of the scary fifteen minutes we just lived?”

Tessa agreed with a shy smile and Scott felt immensely proud of himself for being in the right way of making her feel better.

“You pick,” he offered as Tessa started going through the movie choices on the small touch screen on the back of the seat in front of her.

“What about this?” she asked, showing him Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Scott raised his eyebrow. He hadn’t been expecting such and old movie. Apparently Tessa took his expression for disapproval because she soon started looking through other options, “I’m sorry. It wasn’t a great choice. I know it’s old and kind of a girly movie,”

“No! It’s alright if that’s what you want to watch. It just surprised me that’s all,” he said, “Don’t tell anybody, but I do love rom-coms,” he added on a tone of confidence.

Tessa giggled and he thought it was one of the most beautiful sound in the world, “You? Rom-coms?” she said in disbelief.

Scott shrugged, “Hey, I grew up a figure skater, what do you expect? I spent hours watching movies with my ice dance partners in countless hotel rooms. I’ve probably seen more rom-coms than you,” he joked.

He was happy to see that it made Tessa laugh. If he could take her mind off the turbulence, he considered his job was done.

“Alright, Breakfast at Tiffany’s it is then,” she announced solemnly before pressing play on the screen.

She offered him one of her earplugs and he took it, shoving it in his right ear while she took the left one.

He soon became absorbed by the movie and didn’t even notice when Tessa fell asleep half-way through the movie next to him. He only realized she was sleeping when the flight attendant came and asked if he would like another blanket for his sleeping wife.

Scott accepted the offer, thinking that maybe Tessa would love some more warmth.

He didn’t realize until the flight attendant was gone that he had never corrected her on the wife misunderstanding.


	3. Track 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” Lao Tzu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! So I read all your comments and I wanted to thank you all for both showing me some support and also giving me advice on how to improve. 
> 
> I first debated the idea of scraping this story and then simply start over, but then I re-read what I had already written for chapters 3 to 7 and realized that I had grown attached to the storyline. I did a lot of editing though, starting with chapter 3, and I hope that it’s better than it was at first. Since I had already written seven chapters, I thought I could post at least once a week, but with all the work I’m putting in re-writing some chapters, it might take longer in between updates. I’ll still try to do my best 
> 
> I was also wondering if anyone was interested in proof reading my stuff? I’ve never done this before so I don’t know exactly how it works. If any of you is interested just let me know! Thanks! 
> 
> Now that it is said, I give you chapter 3 Enjoy!

The rest of the flight was uneventful compared to its first hours. When Tessa woke up for the second time, there was no shaking and no free falling. The plane was quietly cruising in the sky. The credits of Breakfast at Tiffany’s were rolling on repeat on the screen if front of her and Scott was fast asleep next to her.

They were both covered by a thick grey blanket and Tessa realized that some flight attendant had probably laid it on them, thinking they were a couple or something. The thought alone that people could assume such a thing made her blush from head to toe and left her with a weird feeling. As kind and charming as Scott was, she wasn’t looking for any sort of relationship for the time being. She hoped she wasn’t letting him think the opposite.

She still felt really bad for how she had reacted during the turbulence. Clutching at Scott’s hand like that, whimpering like a scared little girl and not even daring to open her eyes. Scott had said he didn’t mind and he hadn’t want her to apologize, but she still felt pretty bad about it.

Truth be told, she had never been so terrified in her life. She had taken her fair share of planes so far; planes for skating, planes for work, planes for traveling, but never once it had scared her that much. The free falling and the shaking and the passengers’ screams; it all felt like a total nightmare, like something you only see in bad re-enactments of plane crashes on TV. She owed Scott a lot for simply being there next to her. His presence had really helped her, more than he could probably imagine.

Scott stirred next to her and she took a few minutes to truly look at him. She had found him handsome earlier in the lounge of the airport, but now that he was asleep next to her, looking peaceful, he was even more attractive.

The conversation they had, the way he had behaved with her, it all felt perfect. He looked like the perfect guy, the type of man she usually went after; respectful, gentlemen, sportive. And in any other context she would have loved to see if their encounter could go beyond a simple meeting in the airport, but the context was complicated.

She was just out of a relationship; a two-year relationship, the longest she had ever had, with a guy who wasn’t perfect, but she really had thought he could be good for her.

She was ashamed to admit that she had been ready to settle for him. She was 28 years old and James had been her only serious relationship ever. She had dated before here and there, but had never crossed the six-month deadline. When she had met James and he seemed to meet most of her criteria, well she had tried really hard to make their relationship last. She had thought that maybe her past relationships had never lasted because she was the problem and that she just had to try a little harder. So she forgave James when he forgot their anniversary, didn’t say anything when he had to work late at the office and never told her, making her wait for him two hours at the restaurant. She always said it was okay for him to go out with his friends on Friday nights instead of spending time with her while she hadn’t seen him all week long. She went out with him to his lawyer’s social gatherings and didn’t say a word, not even when she was drowning in work and just dreamed of spending a quiet night cuddled in a blanket, watching Netflix. She had tried really hard to make it work, but that was until she had found James in her bed with Anne, his secretary at the office, and everything had changed.

It had taken that to see that James wasn’t making her happy. When she had stumbled on the both of them, naked in James bed, she didn’t feel a thing except betrayal. She was profoundly mad that James had thought he could lie to her and sleep with someone else, but she wasn’t sad that their relationship was over. It had made her open her eyes. She had realized that she’d never really loved him because the prospect of losing him wasn’t devastating at all. It wasn’t even remotely disappointing. She hadn’t been saddened by the end of their relationship, she had only felt betrayed and ashamed. She had felt like she wasn’t worth anything and she hated that. She usually was a strong woman and had a lot of pride. She was a perfectionist and had always wanted to please and be loved. It was a hard hit to see that for James, she hadn’t been enough. She didn’t want to be in that situation ever again.

So no, she wasn’t ready to get into a new relationship, no matter how kind Scott seemed to be. Plus, she didn’t even know if he had a girlfriend or not. But the way he had acted; offering her to rest at the airport, holding her hand while they were possibly going to crash to the ground, offering to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s with her, it all seemed like maybe he liked her a little. Or maybe he was just being kind.

“Good morning miss,” said a flight attendant as she stopped next to her with a tray of coffee and tea, “Would you like something to drink?”

Tessa smiled politely and nodded her head; “Coffee please.”

Scott woke up at that same moment, probably from the strong scent of coffee coming to his nostrils and awakening his senses. He sat upright in his seat and rubbed the sleep off his eyes. His hair was slightly disheveled and his eyes were clouded, but he looked adorable.

“Good morning,” he mumbled to Tessa and she smiled at him.

“Would your husband love some coffee?” the flight attendant asked and Tessa blushed a deep shade of crimson at the assumption.

“Oh no we-“ she started, but was soon interrupted by Scott;

“Yes please, with milk,” Scott said before she had time to fully correct the woman.

Tessa looked at him, confused, but he still looked so sleepy that she simply assumed that he was just not awaken enough to realize the slight misunderstanding that had just occurred.

The flight attendant, probably still thinking they were husband and wife, served them both a fuming cup of coffee before rolling her cart away to attend to other people’s needs.

“Have you slept well?” Tessa asked politely after she took her first sip of the much needed coffee. She had only slept for a couple of hours after a quite eventful night and caffeine had therefor became essential to her survival, at least until she could crawl under the crisp white sheets of her hotel room bed.

Scott nodded; “Really well actually. After the turbulence that is,” he added on a teasing tone and Tessa felt her cheeks get warm.

“Yeah, again, sorry about that,” she said sheepishly.

“No need, I didn’t bring it up again for you to apologize. Let me tell you again that I needed your hand as much as you needed mine.”

Another flight attendant came by their side, rolling her cart and this time offering them a plate of breakfast; a yogurt, a plain muffin and orange juice. They both took their plate and started eating. Tessa hadn’t realized how ravenous she was. After the delay of the flight plus the time spent in the turbulence zone, it had been a while since she had last eaten anything. The flight attendants had probably passed with some snack during the night, but she and Scott were both fast asleep and had missed it.

“This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had,” Scott said dead-serious next to her.

She retained her laugh; “That’s only because we haven’t eaten for like ten hours.”

“Might be true,” Scott replied with a wink.

They both finished their breakfast in companionable silence and soon enough the flight attendant came back to clean up.

Tessa looked at the time on her phone: 9 AM, Montreal’s time.

_Ladies and gentlemen, we are getting ready to land in half an hour. Please regain your seat and fasten your seatbelt as we prepare for landing._

“Seems like we’ll finally be there soon,” Scott said cheerfully by her side.

Tessa smile half-heartily. During the night, all she had wished for was to land, and fast. She had hated her time in the turbulence zone and couldn’t wait to get back on land. But now that they were actually going to land, it felt bittersweet. She didn’t want to admit it, not even to herself, but she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Scott yet. She wanted more time to get to know this stranger who’d became a friendly travel companion in a matter of hours.

“How do you plan on going to Linz from Vienna?” Scott asked her a couple of minutes later.

“I’ll catch a train. I saw on google maps that the train station is really close to the airport. There are trains every hour so I’ll just take the first one I can,” Tessa replied, explaining him her plan for the rest of the journey.

“I was going to catch a train too,” Scott said and Tessa could see where this was going. She felt like Scott was going to ask her to ride with him to Linz and she wasn’t sure what she should say.

A minute before, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye, but right then she didn’t know anymore. Yes, she liked Scott since he was exceptionally charming and easy going, but she also didn’t want herself to start liking him too much because she just couldn’t. She had said she’d stay away from men for a while and she intended on keeping her promise. She couldn’t allow herself to get hurt like she had just been by James.

“Do you mind if I tag along on the train?” Scott asked the dreaded question.

She was torn between the two answers; yes or no, but eventually she gave in. She just couldn’t say no, not when Scott was looking at her like that. It wasn’t fair to disappoint him after he had been so great with her during the whole flight. Plus, maybe she was misjudging his intentions and he just thought she was a pleasant traveling companion, nothing more. Who was she to make assumptions that he might like her? She wasn’t ready to be in a relationship, but she wasn’t opposed at all to the idea of becoming friends with Scott. She could use a good friendship in Montreal. She had moved there less than a year before and didn’t know that much people in the city.

“Yes, of course,” she found herself agreeing to travel with him to Linz before she had time to overthink it even more than she already had.

“Great!” Scott replied and his smile alone was enough to convince Tessa that she had taken the right decision.

* * *

 They finally got to the train station around 4 PM, local time. After going through customs and then waiting for their luggage for what had seemed like an eternity, they had walked to the train station, a short five-minute walk, before they found out that the train had just left 5 minutes before, leaving them with 55 minutes to wait for the next one.

Since they had no other choice, they bought each a ticket and headed towards the only café of the station to eat something. The breakfast from the plane hadn’t sustained them very long.

Tessa ordered a croissant and a latte while Scott took an espresso and a scone.

They sat in a quiet corner of the café and munched on their respective pastries in silence. After their plates were discarded, Tessa took out her laptop to work on some of her business contracts while Scott took out a small red spiraled book full of notes he had taken regarding his skaters’ programs. They worked for close to forty minutes in silence until Tessa’s phone rang loudly. As a frequent traveler, she had bought a sim card that allowed her to make as many international calls as she wanted. She had first thought it was a great idea, but now that she was disturbed during the first few minutes of calm she had since the night before, she regretted her choice bitterly.

The caller ID indicated a call from her contact in Austria. She answered, apprehending the exchange. She hoped that they didn’t want to move their meeting sooner because there was no way she was going to be able to sit through a meeting that night. All she wanted was some real hours of undisturbed sleep. The few hours during which she had dozed off on the plane didn’t count.

“Hello, this is Tessa Virtue,” she answered politely, motioning to Scott that she was heading outside to talk privately.

It was indeed a work call. Her contact, Tobias Thomas was calling regarding their meeting the next day. Unfortunately, he had to reschedule for the next afternoon. It took some time for Tessa to try to rearrange her schedule and make space for the meeting, but eventually she succeeded. When she hung up the phone, she looked at the time only to realize that she was running out of time and that her train was leaving soon.

She went back to the café in a rush and saw that Scott was waiting for her at the door, both their suitcases in hand.

“I’m so sorry, you should have just gone without me. I don’t want you to miss your train!” Tessa apologized as she reached him, nearly running.

“No it’s okay. I would have never left your things without surveillance and just leave. We have two minutes, we’ll be good. Let’s hurry,” Scott said as he walked fast towards the train tracks.

Tessa checked quickly on her ticket and saw that their train was on track 4. Quickly, they ran to it, their suitcases rolling behind them. They stepped inside the train just in time, the doors closing behind them. Seconds later, the train was slowly taking speed and leaving the station.

Out of breath, they looked at each other with matching smiles. The rush of adrenaline making them both laugh. It had been close. A couple seconds later and they would have been forced to wait yet another hour at the train station. An hour usually went by fast, but with the little sleep they had had in 24 hours, it would have been terrible.

She let Scott take care of stashing their suitcases in security while she went to find their seats; seats A and B in row 8, coach 4.

That’s when it hit Tessa. They were seated in coach 4. When she had looked at her ticket to see from which track their train was departing from, she had checked quickly, the number 4 jumping to her eyes. She had just assumed that was it. But it was their coach number. The track was actually 5.

“Oh dear,” she whispered with dread as she collapsed in her seat.

“Are you alright Tessa, you’re a little pale,” Scott asked as he took place beside her.

She shook her head slowly at first and then more energetically; “I am so sorry. So, so sorry,”

Scott looked at her, confusion written all over his face; “What? Why?”

“I think, no, in fact, I know, that we took the wrong train,” she said with an odd calm.

“What? No, I’m sure we took the train on track 4, like you said,” he argued.

“That’s the thing… It was coach 4 and track 5. Not track 4,” she admitted biting down on her lower lip anxiously.

Scott looked at her, but didn’t say a thing. Tessa really hoped that he wasn’t too mad at her. She looked at him anxiously, waiting for his reaction.

Dear lord, what had she gotten them into?


	4. Götzendorf an der Leitha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them."-Mark Twain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> So first of all I want to apologize profusely for the long delay between chatpers! I didn’t think that school was going to be so busy and it leaves me with little time to write. Plus, I wrote three different chapters 4 until I finally found one that I was pleased with. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it and don’t hesitate to re-read chapter 3 if you don’t remember it well since chapter 4 takes off right where I finished the third one.
> 
> Also a special thanks to nerdybynature who took the time to proof read this chapter :) 
> 
> Enjoy!

“That’s the thing… It was coach 4 and track 5. Not track 4,” Tessa said, looking at him expectantly, a shadow of fear clouding her eyes. 

It took time for Scott to fully register what she had said. He couldn’t believe it at first. They had seriously climbed in the wrong train? After the delayed flight and the turbulence and that stupid waiting for their luggage forever and then missing the train by 5 minutes, waiting another hour in the café, Tessa’s phone call, almost missing the train a second time, and now, now they were in the wrong train? It was simply ridiculous. It was exactly the type of things that happened in movies, not in real life!

Scott felt like he was losing his mind from all the crazy things that kept happening to him on this trip. So he did the last thing that was expected from someone in this particular situation; he burst out in laughter. “So you’re telling me that we’re not going to Linz?” he asked Tessa in between fits of laughter. 

Tessa shook her head fervently, looking at him as if he’d gone crazy, which might have been the case.

“Then where,” he paused, trying to catch his breath; “Where are we going?” he asked as laughter made his whole body shake. 

“I have no idea,” Tessa answered. The fear vanished from her eyes and the ghost of a smile graced her features until they both ended in uncontrollable laughter. Tessa was holding her sides that were aching in protest and Scott got the hiccups, but they simply couldn’t stop laughing. Scott could sense the other passengers eyeing them, but he couldn’t care less. After everything that had happened to them, they were entitled to a little bit of craziness.

They stopped laughing a couple of minutes later when they were out of breath and the reality of their situation caught up with them. Scott was wondering how he could possibly break more bad news to his skaters. He was really starting to feel like he was letting them down at the worst possible time. 

“We really need to find where we’re going,” Scott stated after they finally regained their composure. 

Tessa sighed and apologized to him again; “I am so sorry. We were in a hurry and I really thought I had checked the right number on the ticket,” she said, holding her forehead in one hand. 

Scott put his hand on her left one to reassure her that he wasn’t mad. She wasn’t the only one to blame; he too could have verified that they were boarding the right train instead of running for track 4 blindly; “Hey, Tessa, I’m not mad at all. I guess we just have to figure this out together, starting with where the hell we’re headed,” 

Tessa nodded, looking a little worried. Scott couldn’t really blame her. She was probably growing anxious about her business meetings the next day. She had told him how important they were and he knew she wouldn’t want to miss any of them. He himself was very worried about his coaching duties. He couldn’t miss another one of Laura and Xavier’s practice, not if he didn’t want to unsettle them too much. He would never forgive himself if they performed badly because he had put them in a situation that was too stressful.

“Bratislava,” Tessa blurted out next to him.

“Hum?” he asked her to clarify.

“We’re going to Bratislava, Slovakia,” she said, pointing at the monitor above the coach’s door. The final destination of the train was written in red DEL letters, mocking them. 

“Slovakia? We can’t go to Slovakia!” Scott exploded as a rush of panic flooded him. They were leaving the country! He couldn’t let that happen. He tried thinking of their various options. They could either go all the way to Bratislava and take either a plane or another train from there, or they could stop at the nearest station and take another train to Linz or Vienna from there. 

“I know, I’m so sorry Scott,” Tessa whimpered in disappointment. 

“Hey, stop apologizing Tessa. We’ll figure something out. See, these are all the stops that the train is making,” he said, pointing at the monitor on which the various stations were scrolling. “Why don’t we stop at the first station the train stops at and buy a ticket to Linz from there?” he suggested. 

Tessa agreed; “Alright, I guess that is the best plan we have,” 

And that, was how they found themselves hopping off the train at Götzendorf an der Leitha station, in an Austrian village of less than 2000 people, something they would learn only when it was already too late. 

The train station itself, if it was any clue of what the rest of the town looked like, was smaller than Scott’s apartment in Montreal. It had clearly been built decades ago; the gypsum on the wall was crumbling here and there, only one lightbulb on two was lighted and the calendar on the wall was from 2002. There was only one booth to buy tickets from or get information and it was closed when they entered, a sign in German stuck on the window that separated the employee from the travelers. Scott didn’t understand German, but he hoped that what was written was something along the lines of “coming back in 15 minutes”.

Tessa and him were the only two people in the tiny decrepit station. When he looked at the village through the window, Scott couldn’t see anyone walking in the streets and most shops appeared closed. It was as if the town was deserted. 

“Scott, where are we?” Tessa asked next to him, fidgeting nervously with the hair tie at her wrist.

“Götzendorf an der Leitha,” he said, reading the name of the station from the old wooden sign above the station’s doors. 

“Yes, I know that, but is it even a town? Are there any people here? How are we going to go back to Vienna if we can’t buy tickets!” she said, on the verge of panic.

Scott passed a hand through his hair nervously. The day couldn’t get any weirder. They needed to stay calm and focus on finding a solution if they ever wanted to make it to Linz. “We’ll figure something out Tessa,” Scott said looking at her intently. 

She collapsed on the only bench of the room and looked defeated. Scott took place next to her; “I’ll do my best to get us out of here. I promise.”

She looked at him; “I know. I’m sorry. I just, I really can’t miss my appointments. I worked too hard to build my business. I don’t want to lose this contract. I can’t.” 

“I know Tessa. I,”

He was interrupted by a loud noise that came from behind them. They turned around quickly and Scott almost jumped for joy when he saw that someone was back in the employee’s booth; a tall man who looked a little grumpy, but Scott still hoped that he would be willing to help them. 

He all but ran to him, Tessa following closely with the suitcases; “Hi sir, hum, we would really love to buy two tickets for the next train to Vienna. How soon does it leave the station?”

“Du musst deutsch sprechen oder ich kann dir nicht helfen” the man answered, a stern look on his face.

Scott looked at Tessa, helpless. He didn’t understand a word of German.

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t speak German. Do, do you speak English?”

“Sag mir was du willst oder geh weg!” the man said, sighing loudly.

“English?” Scott tried again, desperation lacing his voice. 

“Nein!” the old man replied before shutting the small hole in the window that allowed them to communicate. He even went as far as turning his chair away from he and Tessa and taking out his freaking crosswords puzzles.

Scott looked at Tessa for a few minutes, shocked. If the employee at the train station couldn’t understand English, how were they going to find a way to get back to Linz?

“Okay, let’s just try google translate?” Tessa suggested, showing him her phone.

“Yes, yes! Alright, let’s do this!” Scott said with enthusiasm. Good thing he was traveling with Tessa otherwise he would have been screwed. His cell phone had no access to any data and the battery was so low that it would probably have died in the following minutes.

“Alright, so it’s “Zwei tickets nach Linz oder Wien bitte”, to ask for tickets to Vienna or Linz” Tessa said, trying her best to pronounce the words in German.

Scott couldn’t help but laugh a little at her poor attempt to pronounce German; “I think it’s best if we just show him your phone screen,”

Tessa chuckled; “Maybe it is, I wouldn’t want us to end up lost for a second time in a single day.”

“Excuse me! Sir?” Scott said as he tapped on the window separating him from the oh so charming employee of the train station. “We would like to go to Vienna or Linz? See Wien or Linz?” Scott said as he shoved the screen in the window.

The man turned around with an exasperated look on his face. He looked at the phone screen and then back at Tessa and Scott, showing two fingers. 

“Yes! Two tickets please,” Scott nodded, showing two fingers too. “We got this Tessa!” he said proudly, happy that their disastrous trip was coming to an end. Soon they would be both in Linz, under the comfort of heavy comforters in their respective hotel rooms. 

The man nodded before showing them the price on the screen of his register. Scott took out his credit card and gave it to the man. Soon enough, their tickets were printed and the employee handed them to Scott. 

Tessa tried to repay Scott for the purchase, but he refused; “It’s my gift,” he said.

Tessa shook her head; “No please, take this. Especially since it’s my fault that we ended up here in the first place.”

But eventually Scott won the argument and paid for both their tickets. It was the least he could do. After all, he had been the one asking Tessa to tag along on her train ride. Maybe she wouldn’t have ended up in the same situation if he had let her head her separate way after the flight.

“Alright, thank you then,” Tessa said, smiling at him shyly. “How much time until we can leave?” she asked.

Scott nearly collapsed right then out of tiredness and annoyance when he got the first glance of his train ticket. It was a ticket to Linz, but the train was leaving the station at 6 AM the next morning, which meant they had hours to wait and they would need to sleep in what almost seemed like a ghost town. When were they finally going to make it to Linz? He wanted to drop out of exhaustion, but it seemed like life had decided it would need to wait a little. 

“We have to spend the night here? Oh dear,” Tessa whispered, a dreadful look on her face as she looked at their tickets.

“Isn’t there a train today?” Scott asked, knowing Tessa wouldn’t be able to answer this.

“Excuse me, Sir? Huh, Tessa, could you google it in German? We need to ask him if there is a train today!” Scott said. He was on the verge of going crazy. He needed that grumpy fat man to help them out.

“Gibt es früher einen Zug?” Tessa said, showing the employee her phone screen the same way she had before.

The man let a loud sigh, clearly annoyed by their incessant questions; “Nein!” he said firmly before shutting down a metallic curtain, definitely ending any possible interaction with he and Tessa.

“Let’s walk a little. We need to find some place safe to stay for the night instead of this smelly crumbling station,” Scott suggested, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

They both took their suitcases in hand and started walking side by side. To where? They didn’t really know.

The streets were deserted except for a few people here and there; old men sitting on their front porch putting all their weight on wooden canes and watching them as they passed by, old women with bags of grocery and kids playing with a ball. They tried to ask any of them for directions to a hotel or something, but it seemed like no one understood a word of English. 

They eventually stumbled upon a small house that was announced as a B&B. The exterior of the two-story house was modest and made out of white wood. In front of it, flowers covered almost every inches of the soil; yellow, pink, red, orange, colors were everywhere and the scent was marvelous. A swing was installed on the porch and a rug welcomed them as they climbed the short set of steps to the front door. 

When they entered, they were attacked by an overloaded décor; creepy looking stuffed animals, porcelain dolls and flowery pink wallpaper. The place un-doubtfully was owned by a very old woman with questionable taste. 

“Hello?” Scott called as they entered and no one was in sight.

Scott saw Tessa take a small white stuffed cat that was resting on the office and she turned it in her hands.

“That’s my late Stacy,” a thick English accent said, coming from behind them. 

Scott realized what the old woman had meant by that and his eyes grew big as he gave a slap on Tessa’s arm, making her drop the deceased stuffed cat.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said, taking it from the floor and handing it to the old woman. 

Scott took in her appearance. The owner of the B&B looked exactly like her house; with her too big yellow flowered dress and her white blouse with lace ribbons and ruffled sleeves, she was as kitsch as her décor. 

“It’s alright my dear,” said the old woman, taking the cat, Stacy, from Tessa’s hands. “Are you two looking for a place to spend a night in?” she asked, smiling warmly at the both of them.

Scott nodded, sending the old woman what he hoped was his most charming smile; “Yes, if there is anything available. We have to take a train to Linz tomorrow morning at 6,”

“Oh! Of course, I have one room just for you two,” the small lady said, going around her office to get the key.

“You only have one room here?” Scott asked, looking at Tessa uneasily.

“Yes I do, but you two are my only clients. You’re married, no?” the woman smiled at the two of them fondly.

Tessa opened her mouth, but Scott interrupted her before she had the chance to say anything. He had the feeling that he couldn’t let her deny the fact that they were married if they didn’t want to end up sleeping in the streets; “Yes, yes we are,” he said, enlacing Tessa’s waist. He felt her tense under his touch and made a note to apologize later.

“Great. I would have hated to have to return you to the street, but you understand that I couldn’t let you stay under my humble roof if you two weren’t married,” the old woman said, putting on thick glasses to write down their names in her client register.

“So it’s Mr and Mrs?” she asked, looking at them.

“Moir, Tessa and Scott Moir,” Scott was quick to answer the lady, keeping a hand around Tessa’s waist. He could feel her uneasiness without even looking at her and, if he had to be honest, it disappointed him a little. 

He was 31 year-old and he had never had a real serious relationship. Yes, there were girls here and there, mostly friends of friends or girls from his hometown, but he had never stayed in a relationship for longer than a year. Girls usually blamed him for spending too much time at the rink and not being there for them enough. 

He had to admit that they were mostly right. Being an athlete was kind of selfish. It had to be. If he wanted to succeed, he had to put his needs first, unfortunately ruining all his relationships in the process. He didn’t regret anything, but he was now ready for the next step in his life. He was ready to start looking for someone. He wanted all of it; a best friend who could turn into a lover, someone to share his life with, someone who would be there at the end of the day, someone he could take care of and someone who would take care of him, someone with whom he could have a family. 

He loved kids, so, so much. His brothers both had children and while he simply adored his role as an uncle, he was also really impatient to become a father himself. He had grown up surrounded by family and having kids had always been a priority for him. 

Still, before thinking about having a family, he knew he needed to start dating, to put himself out there. He was new to all of it, but he knew he had to start somewhere. 

He had really thought that Tessa was interested since she had spent hours talking to him and had agreed to ride with him, but then again he didn’t know a lot about any of it; relationships and dating stuff. Still, there was something about Tessa that had made him want to try. 

He really had thought that he would take his chance with her, ask for her number and a date eventually when they’d be back in Montreal, but with the way he was feeling her tense at the tiniest touch, he knew it would never happen. He had been wrong; Tessa wasn’t interested at all.

“Alright, here’s your key kids. I’ll show you to your room,” the woman said and Scott and Tessa followed her in silence.

Scott knew they were in for a very long night.


	5. B&B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God." - Kurt Vonnegut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again!
> 
> So... I wasn't really proud of chapter 5 and thought it lacked something. So here it is, all upgraded with more meaningful conversation between Tessa and Scott and finally some honest discussion about feelings.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it more :)

Miss Avery, the owner of the B&B, led them to a room that was not much tasteful than the rest of her house. The old cracked wallpaper that covered every inch of the room was a dark forest green embodied with silk gold flowers. The furniture was all disparate; a double bed with a frame in white wrought iron, a vanity in chestnut wood, a mirror so old that Tessa could only see her reflection all distorted and blurry. The worst was that stuffed animals had followed them to the room. Tessa doubted she’d ever be able to fall asleep in that setting, no matter how tired she was. 

“You know, I’ll never be able to close my eyes with that terrifying stuffed bird looking at us from over there,” Scott said, voicing out her thoughts as he set their suitcases on the floor. 

It made Tessa shiver. The bird, perched on a chest of drawers right in front of the bed, was facing them, its yellow eyes riveted on Tessa. 

“It really creeps me out,” Tessa agreed, looking away.

Scott saved them by taking the bird and stashing it in one of the drawers; “Here, now we can sleep in peace,” he said with a wink. 

Tessa sent Scott an half-smile, her heart speeding at his words. She couldn’t believe she would have to spend the night in there alone with Scott, playing the married couple for the owner of the B&B. She had to admit that it scared her a little. 

Earlier, when Scott had encircled her waist with his arm, she had felt something. She didn’t know how to name it, and she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to. The last thing she needed was to start to feel something more for Scott.

Finding him cute and admitting that he was her type was something, but getting butterflies at the simplest touch and wanting to curl closer to him was another story, one she didn’t want to explore, at least not yet. 

She was dead set on staying only friends with Scott, no matter how the closeness was making her feel. She didn’t have the time nor the courage to put her heart at risk of getting hurt yet another time in such a short time. 

She was ashamed of the way she had tensed when Scott had touched her; both because of how it made her feel, but also because she knew he had probably felt it too. 

She really regretted it because she had the feeling she had hurt Scott in the process. When he had sensed her tense in his arms, he had probably thought that she was uncomfortable with him or something, which was exactly the opposite and the very source of her problem. She couldn’t get comfortable, no matter how kind and perfect he was. 

He had been so good to her all day; even making jokes when they were lost, forgiving her for guiding them to the wrong train, calming her when she was on the verge of panic, thinking about how she was risking her contract if she couldn’t make it to Linz on time. He really was perfect. 

“Scott I, I’m sorry for acting weird before, at the reception with Miss Avery, I didn’t want to, so, sorry,” Tessa rambled, trying to explain herself to Scott. She didn’t want him to go on and think he was making her feel uncomfortable or anything. 

Scott sighed; “It’s okay Tessa. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. I’m going to sleep on the floor, that way we won’t have to share the bed.” That made Tessa feel even worst. Sleeping on the floor? Really? 

“What? No! Of course not,” she said, outraged. “You won’t sleep on that carpet. Who knows what those stains are from,” Tessa said, eyeing skeptically the less than impeccable floor. 

She could handle a single night of bed sharing with Scott. She knew she could.

“Come on Tessa, you tensed the second I touched you and told the woman we were married. I mean, I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I really just wanted to save us the trouble of freezing our asses outside all night! I think it would be better for everyone if we didn’t have to share a bed on top of everything. I really don’t want to force you to do anything you wouldn’t want to,” he explained and Tessa instantly felt bad. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to tense like that earlier. It’s just, I, I didn’t want to make you feel like, I mean, I, I don’t, I just. You took me by surprise, that’s all,” Tessa tried to explain, rambling once again. 

“Tess, it’s okay. I understand. We, we’re just strangers sharing the road, no need to share a bed as well,” Scott added.

How come he couldn’t understand? Tessa wasn’t the kind of girl who let someone sleep on the floor, no matter how stubborn they were. She was inflexible; “Scott, please. Just share the damn bed with me,” she whined.

“Tessa, it’s okay, really,” Scott said, taking a pillow and dropping it to the floor. “See, Miss Avery even left us supplementary blankets,” he said, pointing to the pile of rainbow colored knitted blankets.

“Scott, please, really. We can share the bed. I swear you won’t make me uncomfortable. Just like you didn’t make me uncomfortable earlier. I just, I wasn’t expecting it, but I, everything is okay I swear. You took me by surprise that’s all,” Tessa said, preferring to stay off the subject of her true feelings.

Tessa wasn’t good at talking about those kind of things. She preferred to guard her heart and not let anyone know how she really was feeling. Because the few times she had let her walls down, she had been hurt. The most recent time being when she had allowed herself to get close to James. Plus, she didn’t want to talk about feelings because it made things real. And her crush on Scott Moir couldn’t be real if she wanted to protect her heart. Things were just too complicated.

“Alright, I’m sorry again. I really thought you and I were getting along great and I thought, I don’t know. I’m sorry I overstepped,” Scott said, not really better than Tessa herself at expressing what he thought. 

“It’s okay. We are getting along, we’re great friends, no?” Tessa said, putting emphasis on the word friends. 

She watched with mixed feelings as Scott’s face decomposed a little at her words. She did feel something for him after all and it was clear that he too had been thinking about what they were becoming to each other, but staying only friends was the most rational thing to do. 

“Yeah, friends, right,” Scott said. 

“Friends who can share a bed for a night,” Tessa specified, smiling at Scott.

She could share a bed with him for a night, strictly platonically. She just needed for her heart to stop from beating out of her chest if they happened to touch under the covers. 

Scott nodded; “Yes, friends who can share a bed for a night, for survival purpose.”

With that settled, Tessa took out her toiletries bag and her pyjamas. Good thing she had packed more than the tiny silk shorts and the matching camisole she was used to sleep in. Whenever she traveled, she packed flannelled pyjamas in case the place she’d sleep at would be frisky. She had never planned they would be of use for bed sharing with a stranger for whom she’d developed unwelcome feelings.

“Alright, so I’m going to go in the shower,” 

“Hum, hum,” Scott acknowledged with a small smile. “In the meantime, I’ll call my skaters to let them know of the situation.”

Tessa spent more time than she ever had in the shower. The hot stream of water felt like it was washing all her worries away; worries from having to spend the night in a tiny double bed with Scott, worries that she was falling for him no matter how hard she was trying to resist and worries that she was going to miss her appointments in Linz, therefor losing her contract in Montreal and all the hard work she had put into her company would have been a waste. 

When the stream of water turned from numbing hot to freezing cold, Tessa turned it off and got out, drying her body with one of the pink scratchy towels Miss Avery had left for them. 

She then put on her pyjamas, blow-dried her hair and brushed her teeth. When she couldn’t find anything else to do in order of postponing her return to the room with Scott, she unlocked the door, a mist of steam following her into the bedroom.

She found Scott sitting on the bed, still talking to his skaters on the phone. He smiled at her when he saw her and she felt self-conscious for a minute, standing there in only her pyjamas. She felt a little vulnerable, not being used to letting other people see her in that state. 

The room was so small that there was nothing else than the bed, the vanity and the big chest of drawers. No chair or recliner or anything. She simply stood there awkwardly, not knowing where to put herself. 

“Alright, see you tomorrow, bye bye,” Scott said to Laura on the phone before hanging up. 

He eyed Tessa in a funny way before opening the mouth; “You know you can sit on the bed Tessa.” 

She fidgeted with the hem of her pyjama shirt before sending him a fake smile; “I know. I was just, hum, yeah”

She set her toiletries bag in her suitcase and joined him on the bed, carefully sitting on her side and making sure she didn’t accidentally touch him in the process. Her poor heart had trouble enough pumping at a normal rhythm when she was close to Scott. She feared it wouldn’t be able to keep up if she touched him on top of it. 

“You know, I won’t bite you Tessa,” Scott joked, “You can sit a little more comfortably, I’m actually scared you’ll fall off the bed,” 

Tessa laughed, not able to help herself, and she was pleased to find that it made the atmosphere a little less tense. “I’m sorry Scott. I just don’t want to do anything that would make you, you know.” 

Scott nodded, lips tight. “Yes, you’ve been clear on that.”

Tessa sensed the hurt in his words and thought it was time for her to be honest with Scott. “You know, my ex-boyfriend and I, we just broke up a couple of months ago,” she began, only to be answered with silence.

She looked at Scott, expectantly. She wanted, needed, to know how he felt too.

“I’m sorry, Tessa, if you feel like you owe me an apology. I’m not gonna lie; I like you. But it’s okay if you want to stay friends and I’m sorry if I overstepped by touching you like that earlier.” 

Tessa smiled, shaking her head; “You make it so damn hard,” she chuckled with a hint of desperation.

“What?” Scott asked, looking at her a little confused.

“You make it so damn hard to not like you. I tensed because I liked the way it felt Scott, but this is crazy! We’ve known each other for less than 48 hours. We haven’t slept in almost as many hours. We traveled half the country in the wrong direction. We’re pretending to be married for an old conservative English lady who was our only way of not spending the night in the cold. There is nothing normal about how we met and maybe it explains why I feel that way when I’m close to you. But the truth is that my ex-boyfriend cheated on me not so long ago and the wound is still fresh. I’m not ready to be in any kind of relationship. So please, stop making it so damn hard to resist.” Tessa pleaded, looking Scott deep in the eyes. For a girl who hated talking about feelings, she had just laid herself bare for Scott to see. She hoped he would finally be able to understand.

“I’m sorry,” he said as his only answer.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re actually a really great guy, which is why you’re making it hard. But it’s nothing you ever have to be sorry about. And if the situation was any different maybe, I don’t know.” Tessa shrugged.

Scott didn’t say anything and just nodded, looking down at his lap.

“Alright then, good night?” Tessa said more as a question than a statement. She felt a little bad for rejecting Scott like that, but she knew she needed to that if she wanted to protect them both. It wasn’t fair to lead Scott on nor to jump into something with him when she was still not over James’ betrayal. 

“Yeah, I’ll go in the shower first,” Scott said, hoping off the bed and taking his stuff from his suitcase.

While she heard the shower running, Tessa tried to decide what she should do. Should she get under the covers? Should she wait for him? Was it too impolite to fall asleep before he got out of the shower? She could pretend to sleep. At least it would save her from the sure to be awkward moment of turning off the lights and wishing each other good night while they laid side by side. 

But then, the worries crept up her mind. What if she snored? What if she drooled? What if her sleeping body didn’t respect any boundary and threw itself at Scott?

Suddenly she was in no hurry to fall asleep. 

Her moment of panic was short lived because Scott soon got out of the shower, his hair all wet. He was dressed in boxer shorts and a black t-shirt that spread along his abs. Tessa had to refrain herself from staring at him too openly.

“You alright Tessa?” Scott asked, looking at her strangely. Tessa blushed, realizing that even with all her best efforts, she had been caught blatantly staring at him. 

“Yeah, hum, good night!” she said, quickly hiding under the cover and turning her body so she’d face the wall.

“Hum, good night,” Scott said awkwardly, climbing in the bed next to her.

He turned the lights off and they were plunged in the dark.

“Just so you know. You make it pretty damn hard not to like you either,” Scott whispered mere seconds before she felt herself finally succumb to sleep.


	6. Awkward Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey! Already chapter 6! Enjoy it :)

Scott finally set foot into the Linz skating rink the next day around 10 in the morning. He had come directly from the train station, not bothering to stop by his hotel first. He had lost enough time as it was.

When he passed the doors of the rink, Scott smiled. Coaches and skaters were everywhere in the hallways, wearing jackets sporting the name of their countries and their team colors. Skaters were stretching on the floor, jogging in the bleachers or lacing on their skates. Coaches were running around, cladded in warm clothes, giving last minute advice to their skaters while sipping on their coffees.

It was everything Scott had always loved and it was a welcome distraction after all that had happened to him ever since he sat on a stool next to a beautiful stranger in the Toronto’s airport lounge.

“Hey Scott! It’s nice to finally see you in here. I heard you had quite an adventure,” teased Marie-France as she joined him at the boards to coach two of her junior teams from Gadbois. While Scott worked with many of the skaters there too, Xavier and Laura where the only team with whom he was the lead coach. He couldn’t wait to see how great they would do in Linz.

“Hey Marie, thank you again for taking care of Xavier and Laura’s coaching yesterday and early this morning,” he said, really grateful that she and her husband had been there to step in for him.

“It was our pleasure. I’m glad you could be finally there today. You have to tell me everything. How did you end up in such a messed up situation?” she asked with a laugh, taking a sip of her coffee.

Scott chuckled. Saying that the situation was messed up was an understatement. It was more than just messed up; not only had his travel plans gone south, but he was also going completely crazy about the woman with whom he’d share the journey to Linz.

“Yeah, I hope you have a lot of time ahead of you because it is quite a story!” Scott said, shaking his head.

“I actually have 10 minutes to hear all about it, until practice starts. Your story ends well at least. You finally made it to Linz,” Marie-France said and Scott’s smile faded.

“Yeah, not really,” he said, suddenly sad as memories of the morning flooded him.

“What do you mean?” Marie-France asked, sitting on the bench and motioning to Scott to do the same.

“I, I met this girl,” he started and saw Marie-France’s hopeful expression. “Don’t get your hopes up Marie, she, she isn’t available.”

Marie-France nodded; “Oh, so she already has a boyfriend,”

Scott shook his head; “If only! No, she, she said she’s just out of a relationship and isn’t ready for another one. I understand, I really do, but I don’t know, she’s from Montreal too and I don’t know, she’s perfect. It felt like fate, it…” he trailed off, no right words coming to his mind. He didn’t even know how to explain to himself how he felt towards Tessa or why he felt that way. How could he explain it to someone else?

“She must be something to have you all worked up like this,” Marie chuckled, eyeing him from behind her coffee.

Scott, like a twelve-year-old teenager, blushed; “She really is,”

“So maybe if you leave her a little time, when you two are back in Montreal and she’s had time to get over her break-up,” Marie said, hinting at possibilities.

Scott shook his head; “I don’t have her number or anything. I didn’t feel like asking after the morning we had.”

“What do you mean?” Marie asked.

Scott sighed and told Marie-France everything. How, at the airport, he sat randomly next to a stranger who happened to take the same flight as him. How they talked through the storms until their flight was finally boarding. How he had learned that she was from London and now lived in Montreal. How they ended up sitting side by side in the plane. How Tessa had clutched his hand during the turbulence. How he’d asked to tag along for the train ride to Linz. How they’d almost missed their train and ended up in the wrong one anyway. How Götzendorf an der Leitha was the smallest town he had ever seen. How they had to pretend to be husband and wife if they didn’t want to get kicked out of the B&B.

How Tessa was everything he always had been looking for without even knowing. How she was beautiful and confident, but also really kind and humble. How she didn’t look like the funny type at the first glance, but after only a few hours spent talking with her, he could tell that she was hilarious.

“You know, those are all great things Scott. I’m sure she likes you a lot, no matter what.” Marie-France said somewhere in the middle of Scott’s speech, just after he was finished telling her about his and Tessa’s conversation in bed the night before.

Scott shook his head; “Yeah, I thought she liked me too and she told me so. I thought if I just left her some time, but I blew everything this morning.”

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Marie asked, kindly.

* * *

 

_When Scott had woken up that morning, the sun had yet to rise in the sky. The room was pitched dark and at first he had trouble remembering where he was. All he could tell was that he had slept better than ever and that he was so comfortable he didn’t want to move. His face was nuzzled into something warm that smelled deliciously fresh, like cotton flowers or something._

_He moved a little, eyes still closed and mind clouded with sleep, only to realize that his right arm was stuck. He tugged at it a little and it was finally set free, but not without making his heart stop. Because when he set his arm free, he heard a small whimper that didn’t come from his mouth. It came from right next to him._

_It all came back to him in a flash; the airport, the delayed flight, the wrong train, the painful talk about Tessa only wanting to be his friend. He then realized that the warm thing in which his face was nuzzled was Tessa’s neck and he was a screwed man._

_As if the bed was on fire, Scott jumped out of it really not smoothly, knocking over the porcelain lamp that rested on his bedside table._

_He caught the lamp before it crashed to the floor, and was relieved that Tessa only stirred a little in her sleep. He was safe, she hadn’t realized how cuddly he had been._

_He then looked at the time on his phone and realized it was already 5 AM. He and Tessa had to get going soon if the finally wanted to make it to Linz with no more problems this time._

_He approached the bed to tell Tessa that it was time to wake up, but he hit his toe on the bedside table, a muffled swear escaping his mouth._

_“What? Scott? What time is it?” Tessa whined, woken up by the noise. She buried herself deeper into the comfort of the bed and the pillows._

_“Hum, 5,” he managed to say through gritted teeth, his toe pulsing painfully. “Come on Tessa, you have to wake up. We can’t miss the train,” Scott said, nervously rubbing at his neck._

_“Five more minutes,” she whined, hiding herself under the comforter._

_Scott sighed. Well, apparently Tessa Virtue wasn’t a morning person. “Come on Tessa, we really need to get up. We have to walk all the way to the train station. I doubt there are taxis in this tiny town,” he insisted, but Tessa’s hidden form wasn’t moving under the sheets._

_“Tessa,” he said once again, as if scolding a child. Damn it she was a stubborn woman!_

_“Tessa!” he said more forcefully, this time yanking the sheets away from her grasp. She just curled in a fetal position, putting the pillow on her head and whining “No, Scott,”_

_“Okay that’s enough, wake up please,” Scott said, chuckling at the situation. Who would have known that someone as in control as Tessa always seemed to be, that she would turn out to be just like a child in the morning? No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, it charmed him a lot and only added to the very long list of reasons why he liked her._

_“If I go get you a coffee will you please get dressed while I’m gone?” Scott tried, putting on his own clothes in the process._

_He heard her grumble something somewhat resembling of a yes and chuckled to himself before heading downstairs to Miss Avery’s kitchen. He really needed to find caffeine if he had any hope of leaving the B &B with Tessa in tow._

_He found Miss Avery already up in the kitchen, busying herself with making them breakfasts to go._

_“Hello Mr Moir, I was just about to wake you and your wife so you don’t miss your train. I wrapped you some pastries and coffees so you don’t take the train on empty stomachs. I wouldn’t want you poor kids to starve.”_

_Scott thanked the old woman profusely and paid for their room before heading back upstairs were he hoped he’d find Tessa dressed and ready to go._

_And she was. She was wearing a classic two-piece suit, probably her business outfit, and she looked absolutely stunning. She was busy packing her stuff and hadn’t notice him coming back in the room, which was great since he wouldn’t have liked to be caught jaw to the floor, staring at her like a lovesick teenager._

_“Hey! You ready to go?” Scott asked after he shook himself off the stupor._

_Tessa turned around, a grumpy expression on her face; “Only if you tell me this is coffee in your hands.”_

_Scott laughed; “Yes sleepyhead, it’s coffee. Now drink it and take your stuff, we’re going” Scott said, handing Tessa the breakfast prepared by Miss Avery and lifting both their suitcases from the floor._

_He carried their luggage downstairs in the lobby where they had to play husband and wife for a few more awkward minutes. They talked about how nice a night they had and Scott tried really hard not to die out of embarrassment when Miss Avery winked at them, insinuating all sorts of things that Scott could only imagine in his wildest dreams. They tried to be affectionate with each other to support the lie, just until they disappeared down the street and knew for sure that Miss Avery couldn’t see then anymore. Just then, they let go of their hand hold._

_The silence was heavy for a few minutes, Scott not knowing how to break it._

_“So,” they said at the same night, letting out shy laughs._

_“Yeah, so, we are finally going to Linz,” Scott said with fake enthusiasm. As happy as he was to finally get to see his skaters and fulfill his coaching duties, he knew that his arrival in Linz would mark the end of his and Tessa’s friendship or whatever it was that had grown between them._

_“Yeah, finally,” Tessa acknowledged, looking at him, her expression mirroring his._

_The short walk to the train station ended in silence and allowed Scott to get lost in his thoughts, ruminating how disappointed he was that he would probably never see Tessa again._

_When they arrived at the train station, Scott was far from happily surprised to see that the same employee from the night before was the only person in the station, again._

_He smiled at him and got nothing in return but a grumbled answer in German that sounded more like an insult than a salutation._

_The train rolled in the station seconds later and they climbed in it, taking place in two empty seats._

_When the train started to take speed along the rails, Scott took out his phone and aimlessly started looking at the most recent pictures he had taken at his nephew’s birthday. He needed something, anything, to distract himself._

_“Oh my god! That’s Alma! She was my first skating coach,” Tessa exclaimed suddenly next to him, picking at his pictures._

_“You got to be kidding me,” Scott muttered, shocked._

_Tessa shook her heard; “No, I remember her! She was coaching with her sister if I’m right.”_

_“Yeah, her name is Carol,” Scott smiled._

_“Yeah! Oh my god! Was she your coach too?” Tessa asked, smiling at him._

_“Yeah, and she’s also my mother,” Scott grinned, looking at Tessa, pleased with himself._

_“What? This is crazy Scott!” she laughed a little, eyes sparkling._

_“Do you believe in fate?” Scott found himself asking before he had time to shut his stupid mouth._

* * *

 

Scott shook his head, ashamed; “So I asked her about fate and blew everything. She had already told me she wanted to be friends only and here I was, asking her if she believes in fate as if her and I are meant to be or something,”

“Oh Scott, how did she react?” Marie inquired.

Scott sighed; “She didn’t really know what to stay and we were saved by the controller coming to check our tickets. After that she said she was going to try and sleep a little, but I know she only feigned it. We parted ways with just an awkward goodbye.”

“I’m sorry Scott. Maybe it was simply not meant to be,” Marie tried to comfort him.

But no words could make him feel better. He knew he was acting weird, but he couldn’t help it. Tessa had been the first woman ever to make him feel like that and he had to blow everything by asking her about fate. The right thing to do would have been to simply accept that she wanted to stay friends and give her time. Ask if she wanted to meet back in Montreal when she’d be ready. But no, he had to play the worst card in the world and look like the creepy guy who thought they were destined to be together or something.

“Hey Scott!” said Laura as she approached him, saving him from more time spent dwelling on his mistakes; “I’m so glad you can be here today!”

“I’m glad to be here too! I’m really sorry again that I was stuck in Montreal yesterday and missed your practice this morning. I really wished I would have made it on time,” Scott apologized for the umpteenth time.

Xavier was quick to reassure him; “Of course, we know you wanted to be there. I think we had a really great practice with Marie-France and Patrice though,”

Scott smiled, clapping his hands together; “Alright then, let’s work on the twizzles,”

* * *

 

Three hours later, Laura and Xavier had finished their practice and Scott found himself with some free time on his hands. It was already lunch time and he had only eaten Miss Avery’s muffin for breakfast around 6. His stomach was grumbling in hunger. Plus, the jet lag left him a little tired and he was in desperate need of a large cup of coffee. With that in mind, Scott made his way out of the rink and back to the city center. Laura and Xavier had another practice session at 4 PM so he had a large amount of time ahead of him. He would use it to find some place to eat and try to see a little of Linz.

He took the bus to the city center and hopped off at one of the stops near the park. He walked a little before he found a café that appealed to him.

As soon as he pushed the door, his nose was filled with delicious aromas of freshly brewed coffee and daily baked croissants. His mouth watering at the sight of the pastries, he made his way to the register to pass his order.

Minutes later, coffee and sandwich in hand, he walked around the café to find a place to sit. As he made his way between the tables, he stopped dead in his track when he saw it; the back of a raven haired head. A head he thought he recognized, but that seemed too good to be true.

“Tessa?” he asked, half hoping that he was right and that the woman would turn her head in his direction and half hoping she wouldn’t, saving him from embarrassing himself further more.

But she did turn her head. “Scott!” she said, clearly surprised to see him there. She was sitting at a table, laptop in front of her. Next to it was a plate full of crumbles and an empty mug of coffee.

Scott suddenly was filled with fear. He hoped she didn’t think he was some crazy stalker or anything. Because it might seem like it. They had bumped into each other had the airport, had sat side by side in the plane, he had tagged along for the train ride, they had shared a bed for the night, he had told her about fate and now he was stumbling upon her in this café. He himself thought it was almost too much to only be a coincidence.

“I swear I’m not stalking you,” he said abruptly, blushing a dark shade of crimson at the same time.

She let out a little chuckle at his words; “I believe you.”

At those three words Scott let out a breath he didn’t even know he had been holding. Because really, the idea that Tessa could start being afraid of him had filled him with dread. It really was only a coincidence that he had found her in that café, and maybe a little bit of fate’s work, even if he hated fate for the time being.

“I thought you were busy with meetings all day long?” he asked, remembering what she had told him before.

Tessa sighed, “Yes, but my first meeting ended earlier than I thought and the second one was rescheduled for tomorrow. I thought I could use the rest of my day to work on my presentation for tomorrow and then maybe try to do a little site seeing.”

Scott sent her a comprehensive nod.

“Now I’m all done though and I have a free afternoon to discover Linz,” she added with a smile.

Scott debated his options; could he ask to spend some time with her or she’d go running down the hills? He didn’t want to seem too forward, but at the same time, he had spent all morning kicking himself for blowing his chance with Tessa.

Still, the hurt from Tessa’s earlier rejection was fresh and he didn’t want to risk it for the third time in 24 hours. She had been painfully clear about how she felt for him. It was time for him to let it go.

“What about we do a little site seeing together?”

Scott raised his head so fast towards Tessa when he heard her pronounced those words that he almost got whiplash.

“Really?” he asked, full of hope.

“Why not?” Tessa said, taking him by surprise.

“Yeah?” he asked once again, wanting to be sure his ears weren’t playing tricks on him.

Tessa smiled at him; “Yeah, I mean, I could use some company while walking the streets.”

“Alright then. Do you mind if I eat first?” he asked, showing her his sandwich and coffee.

“No, no problem. I wouldn’t want you to waste that sandwich, they’re delicious; believe me,” she said, taking her empty plate to make her point. “I have one more email to write anyway before I am free to go,”

“Okay, great,” Scott said as he took place on the chair in front of Tessa. He attacked his lunch quickly, afraid that if he took too long Tessa would change her mind about visiting the city with him. He had missed his chance two times, it wouldn’t happen a third time, especially when she had been the one to ask him.

“Did you have something particular in mind?” Scott asked when he was finished with his sandwich and Tessa with her email.

“No, nothing really. I just wanted to walk in the streets. I don’t really have time to visit museums or anything.”

Scott nodded. He could understand, he was in the same situation whenever he was traveling for skating; “Alright then, we’ll walk!”

With that, they both stood up and disposed of their plates and cups. Tessa packed her laptop and other things and Scott waited patiently by the door.

As he watched her from afar, he couldn’t help but feel a little confused about Tessa. One minute he was telling her all about fate and she looked like she wished for the floor to swallow her, and the next there she was, offering to spend the afternoon visiting a foreign city all alone with him. She had told him that he was making it hard for her not to like him. He planned on keeping doing the same, for as long as she’d allow him. Maybe in time she’d get over her ex-boyfriend and he could finally ask her out.

They visited the city slowly, walking in picturesque streets, stopping in a park to rest on a bench. They did a little of window shopping and mostly, they talked a lot.

Scott told Tessa everything about growing up as an ice dancer; from how his mom had first enrolled him in skating since she was a coach to how he came close to giving up in his teenage years when high schoolers were making fun of him. He told her about how he never found the right partner, every girl quitting after a couple of years to try and reach new goals. How he had never made it to the Olympics and how sometimes he felt like if he’d found the right girl when he was younger, it could have been possible.

Scott was also glad to see Tessa opening up to him too. She talked a little more about how hard it had been to give up skating because of injury. She also told him that it was her love for school and fashion that had saved her, allowing her to find a new passion when the life she had always known slipped through her fingers. She told him about her close relationship with her mom and her sister and her not so great one with her father.

He could really feel that the both of them were building something stronger. Scott at least knew that he and Tessa and become friends.

“When we’re both back in Montreal, can I call you?” he found himself asking once more before he had time to talk himself out of it.

Tessa looked at him pensively for a couple of seconds as he stood there, vulnerable and heart beating fast.

“Yes,” she finally said, so softly that he barely heard it.

Suddenly he couldn’t wait to be back in Montreal.


	7. An Unexpected Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in Montreal, Tessa receives a more than surprising phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo sorry that it took me so long to post :( 
> 
> Life is crazy!
> 
> I finally managed to finish chapter 7 though! Things are getting complicated for Tessa and Scott ;) 
> 
> Enjoy!

Three days later, when Tessa pushed open the door to her apartment in Montreal, she let out a relieved sigh. She kicked off her heals and hung her coat before dragging her feet towards the kitchen.

There was no other word to describe her trip to Linz than simply extenuating. She was really glad to be finally back home. Since it was Sunday and she didn’t have to work until the next day, she planned on staying home to unpack and prepare for the week ahead while also trying to relax a little and get over the jet lag.

As tiring as her trip had been, it had also been really fulfilling. Meeting with all those consultants to receive business advice while also having the opportunity to share her own ideas had been an absolute thrill. 

Plus, there also was her encounter with Scott Moir that she could count as one of the very positive points of her trip.

She hadn’t been lying at first, when she had told Scott that she wasn’t ready for a new relationship, not so soon after her recent break up with James, but she didn’t regret caving in and giving him her number in the end. 

When they had parted ways at the train station after a more than awkward train ride, she had been left with a sort of void and a deep feeling of disappointment. Yes, Scott’s words of fate had scared her a lot and pushed her to hide behind the walls she had built around her heart, but when she had been left alone with seemingly no reason whatsoever to ever see him again, she had been shocked to realize that it crushed her. The idea of never seeing him again after the two crazy days they had spent together was surprisingly painful. 

Yes, she was just out of a relationship with James and yes, she had been hurt terribly by his behaviour, but the more she thought about Scott and the more it seemed like he was the complete opposite of James. So much that she couldn’t see why she was hesitant anymore. 

James had been a privileged kid who had attained law school only because of his father’s contacts. He thought that he was better than anyone and, if she was being honest, had always made her feel like she was inferior to him. She was ashamed to think back to just how hard she had tried to make their relationship work. If she could talk to her past self, she’s ask her what the hell she was doing. She had met him at a time in her life when she been so desperate to find someone, seeing that she was already 28 years old and far from having a family unlike the majority of her friends, that she had been ready to settle for the first man barely interested. 

In the two years that had lasted their relationship, she had found herself idealizing it, trying to convince everyone as much as herself that James was the perfect guy, while in reality he was the last person with whom she could now imagine herself.

He was always very late at home, ending work around 8 every night, or maybe spending part of the night with his secretary, she never had the guts to ask. He never remembered important dates such as their anniversary or her mom’s birthday. At the restaurant, he spent more time on his phone than looking at her. He bought her thousands of impersonal gifts that made her feel like he didn’t know her at all. And he never ever planned something for the both of them. The few times they had gone out or away on week-ends, it had always been Tessa’s initiative and it had needed a lot of convincing arguments to make him go. 

Even though her relationship with James was, now she realized it, crap, she had been so afraid of jumping into a new one again. She was a very private person and hated to be vulnerable. She hated that she had given James the access to some of her most personal feelings and that he had had the power to humiliate her like he had. 

She was so afraid of being hurt again. She just wanted to feel good again. She wanted to be independent, strong. So it was why she had backed away when Scott had talked about fate, because she thought she couldn’t allow anyone to have the power to break her again, to make her feel as bad as she had felt. 

But when she had left Scott in Linz, Tessa had realized that by saying no to Scott, too afraid of getting hurt again, she had done the exact thing she was afraid of. She had hurt herself by giving up on something that seemed too good to be true. She had thought that if she pushed Scott away she’d prevent herself from feeling too much. But when she had sat alone in her taxi towards her hotel, all Tessa could think about was how she had maybe given up on what could have been an incredible adventure. 

When she had heard her name in the café, it felt like fate’s work. Yes, fate. Scott would have been happy to hear her say that.

So before she had time to overthink it and talk herself out of it, she had asked him out. How delighted she had been that Scott was able to push pass their moments of awkwardness and accept her offer to visit Linz together. 

She had had the best afternoon with him and when he’d asked if he could contact her once they would both be back in Montreal, she knew she had to say yes. 

It was stupid to stop herself just because she thought she needed more time. She didn’t want to risk losing Scott. Tessa thought that he could be just what she needed to finally get over the hurt and humiliation of having been cheated on. 

Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Tessa went to her bedroom to set her suitcase on the floor before heading back to the kitchen to find something to eat, her poor stomach protesting in hunger.

As she was analyzing her options; eggs or… eggs, her cellphone started vibrating on the grey marble counter. 

She picked it up and answered, not recognizing the number flashing on her screen and thinking it could be Scott. She felt her cheeks flush and her heart beat faster at the prospect and she chastised herself for acting like a twelve-year-old with her first crush. 

“Hi!” she said cheerfully, too cheerfully.

“Tess?” a man said, but it wasn’t Scott. No, it was James. The very James whom she thought she’d never see again, not after the way their relationship had ended a couple of months before. 

“What do you want James?” she asked coldly. She didn’t want to spend a single minute talking to him. He didn’t deserve it. She wasn’t about to let him ruin her new bubble of happiness and calm. 

“Tess, I really need to see you,” he pleaded.

“No James,” she said harshly, “I don’t want to see you and I surely don’t owe you anything,” Tessa said, her rage getting the best of her. She still wasn’t over the fact that James had cheated on her. Yes, she had realized that she didn’t love him and never really did, but she was enraged by the fact that he thought he could sleep with someone else without her ever knowing. She hated how he had taken her for some gullible girl who would have stayed with him no matter what. 

“Tess please, I made a terrible mistake,” James tried, only aggravating Tessa’s mood. 

Sleeping with his secretary wasn’t a mistake. A mistake was buying the wrong thing at the grocery store or forgetting an important date because of a busy schedule. It was ruining her favorite dress by washing it in the machine instead of taking it to the dry cleaner like she’d asked. It was dropping her favorite vase because he hit the table in his hurry. Mistakes could be forgiven. She had forgiven most of his mistakes. But sleeping with his secretary wasn’t a mistake, because nobody could sleep with someone else without realizing it, without thinking that it would hurt the other person, otherwise they wouldn’t bother hiding it in the first place. 

“James, I don’t want to hear it! You slept with Annie knowing exactly what you were doing. It’s over, don’t call me again,” she said, but as she went to hang up, he pronounced words that made her heart stop.

“You forget that my father still owns a part of your fashion consultant company.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Tessa said through gritted teeth.

And suddenly James didn’t seem like the man she had known at all. He sounded vulnerable, hurt, broken; “You’re right, I, my father already thinks I’m a loser. He’d only laugh at me if I asked him to do that. He thinks you’re way more successful than I am anyway.”

Tessa sighed and let him continue. She didn’t know what to say.

“I can’t do anything that’s good to him. That’s why I was calling. Please Tessa, I need your help.” 

With a sigh, she asked; “What do you want James?”

“I need a stable relationship if I want to make partner at the firm and I need to make partner at the firm if I want to finally make my father proud. You know that lawyers value commitment, family and that kind of thing. At least they pretend to. I can’t be the guy who got dumped because he slept with some dumb secretary. The guys still don’t know that you and I are not together anymore, but they’re starting to get insistent on seeing you at business lunches and stuff. They say it’s been too long. I can’t disappoint my father again Tessa, I really can’t.”

Tessa ran a hand through her hair. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. In two years of dating him, she had never, not once, seen him vulnerable. He was a poised man, always in control, not a single hair out of place. Plus, she knew his parents. They were quite something. His father was a man who had succeeded starting from nothing and he expected for his son to do the impossible. Tessa had witnessed times and times again conversations between father and son where James had been taken down. 

James’ mother was quite a number too. The woman hid between couture clothes and designer’s jewels, but really, Tessa had never seen someone so unhappy. It was no wonder why she always seemed to down her first glass of wine before noon. Helen was probably trying to forget that her husband was spending more time with his secretary than her. Like father, like son. 

“What do you want me to do?” Tessa asked carefully. 

“I just need you to pose as my girlfriend until I make partner. We don’t even need to see each other that much. I just need you to be there when there is a social event with the firm. Please. I, I know I screwed up but, I really, really need you.”

Tessa really was at loss as to what to say; “I, I don’t know James. You, you never even said you were sorry,” Tessa said, just above a whisper. 

“I…” she heard him sigh on the other end of the phone. “I’m sorry Tessa. Really. But I’m not the man for you. I realized that a long time ago, but I was too scared of losing you. My family loves you so much. I think they love the idea of us together more than anything I’ve ever done.” 

Tessa sat on a stool at her kitchen’s isle, taking her head in her hands. She was torn. She didn’t want to say yes to James, but at the same time she felt pity for him. How bad and desperate must he have been feeling to call her asking for help? The James she knew had always been too pride to ask for anything, and she wasn’t even talking about asking for forgiveness. Plus, she had always been the kind of girl who wanted to help everybody out.

So she said yes and hung up, James promising to call her as soon as he’d need a date. 

She then thought about Scott. She had been so excited at the prospect of having him call her once he’d be back in Montreal. She wanted to hear all about the competition of his two skaters. She wanted to hear more stories of his nieces and nephews’ antics. She wanted to learn about his work as a coach. And she wanted that skating date he had promised her.

She didn’t know him for a long time, but she had the feeling that if she took the time to explain why she had felt inclined to say yes to James’ request, that Scott would understand. She just wanted to help James out. No matter how much he had hurt her, she wanted to help him out because she knew that deep down he suffered. She had always been the kind of person who helped others and that hadn’t changed just because James hadn’t been the right man for her. She wanted to raise above. 

Plus, Scott seemed exactly like her. Once she’d tell him everything, especially about James’ parents’ expectations, she knew he would understand.

So really, what could go wrong?


	8. The World's Dumbest Idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott Patrick Moir was officially the dumbest idiot on earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Finally, chapter 8! More trouble ahead for our dear Tessa and Scott. Don't worry, they'll get it right... eventually ;) 
> 
> Enjoy!

As soon as Scott’s plane touched the ground in Montreal on Monday morning, he was filled with pure excitement. Not only had the competition in Linz gone extremely well with his team finishing in second place, but he was also really excited for a whole other reason. Written on a folded piece of paper stashed carefully in his wallet, there was Tessa Virtue’s precious phone number. A number he was well intended on using as soon as he could.

He couldn’t wait to call her and ask her out for a date. He had last seen her four days ago, but it felt like an eternity. In the short time they had spent together, he had somehow gotten used to seeing her every day and he had missed her terribly during the rest of his trip.

Still, he had had something to hold on to because when they had parted ways in Linz, he had promised Tessa a date in Montreal and he was well intended on keeping his word. He had it all planned; a night out having dinner at nice restaurant downtown, maybe Foxy, and then heading to the rink which they would have all to themselves.

He had already talked to Marie and Patch and they were really happy to let him use the ice for an hour or two at night. He hoped Tessa would love the night he had planned because in his mind there was nothing more romantic than a dinner at candle night followed by waltzing on ice. She had given him a second chance and he didn’t want to waste it.

He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have stumbled on someone as charming as Tessa at the airport. Even if his trip had been crazy with the delayed flight and the wrong train thing, it had also been one of the best of his life. Tessa had made it all feel like a great adventure. Plus, when he had blown his chance, fate, ironically, had offered him the unexpected opportunity to make it up. He really was a lucky man and he knew it. He was so impatient to spend more time with Tessa.

But boy he wasn’t impatient to see just how much teasing he would receive from his brothers when they would hear about his interest for Tessa. In thirty years, Scott had only presented a handful of girls to his family; girls with whom his relationship never lasted. There had been Anna who couldn’t stop talking about herself, Mary who despised kids, Laura who hated dogs and every other animal with passion, Gabrielle who texted her ex throughout the whole thanksgiving dinner and others he preferred to not even mention.

He had never really found the right girl for him. Plus, hours of practice and commitment to his dreams had taken their toll on every single relationship he ever had. Because of all that, every time he talked to his family about a girl, any girl, his brothers never failed to remind him of his really poor skills in love.

He hoped this time it would be different though. He hoped his brothers would be able to see what he saw; that Tessa had something special, something none of the other girls ever had, something worth fighting for.

His two brothers had married young and already had a handful of kids. He, on the other side, was far from it. He was the black sheep of the family. He had yet to find the right person to start this adventure with and Charlie and Danny never forgot to remind him of that.

But maybe he wasn’t that far from that life he dreamed of anymore. Somehow, he could picture himself spending his whole life, having kids and growing old with Tessa. It scared him to see just how far ahead he was already thinking. They hadn’t even gone on a date and he had already started thinking about how their kids would look like (two girls and a boy with his untamed hair and her gorgeous green eyes).

He had never been in love, but he wondered if the way he was feeling could be exactly that; was he falling in love? Was it love to think constantly about Tessa when she wasn’t there? Was it love to picture his future by her side, even the most insignificant moments such as washing the dishes on a Monday night or watching a movie curled on the couch? Was it love to already know that his mother was going to love Tessa just as much as she loved her own children? Was it love to want to know everything about Tessa? He thought that maybe it was and it was terrifying yet really exciting to feel this strongly for someone.

Still, as powerful as his feelings were, he didn’t want to scare Tessa off. She was a little tentative, giving him a chance so soon after her recent break up for reasons he didn’t even know. He was only going to blow things off if he started talking about the future so early. His mouth had already put him in tremendous trouble with his talk about fate. He had to be on his best behaviour moving forward.

He smiled to himself as he lifted his suitcase off from the baggage tourniquet. He was another step closer from texting Tessa and he just couldn’t wait.

Suitcase in hand, he made his way out of the airport, smiling as he saw loved ones retuning in the arrival zone. No one was waiting for him at the airport that day, as usual. It used not to bother him, but now that he had someone in mind, he wished for the first time since a very long time that he too had someone waiting for him on the other side of the doors, someone who would be impatient to hear all about his traveling stories, someone to hug, someone to kiss.

Maybe next time, who knew?

Cold crisp wind hit him full force as the automatic doors of the airport slid open to let him out. It was only the beginning of September, but Scott could already smell the autumn in the air. The blue of the sky contrasted with the few leaves already turning to orange and the cold air colored his cheeks.

Taking in a fresh breath of air, Scott spotted a free taxi in the line and waved to the driver. The man got out of his car to stash Scott’s suitcase in the trunk while Scott sat in the back. He gave his address to the driver before taking his phone and wallet out of his coat’s pockets.

He fidgeted with the piece of paper on which Tessa’s cell number was written for a while, trepidation filling him. He debated writing to her, but decided to wait a little. He wanted to text her when he’d be fully concentrated, not in a back of a taxi, stuck in Montreal’s traffic.

As he watched the city outside the car’s window, he couldn’t help but be fascinated thinking about how Tessa was somewhere in the city. How funny it was to think that he had maybe crossed her way one day without knowing it. Maybe they had walked side by side on Saint-Catherine street, bumped into each other in the metro or made the line together at the Atwater’s market.

Scott shook his head. No, they hadn’t, because he was sure he would have remembered her. He couldn’t have crossed her path and not notice her. It was just impossible.

He couldn’t wait to be back home to finally text her.

* * *

Four days later, Scott found himself downing a pitch of beer with Patrice at some Montreal local bar. All he wanted was to drown his sorrows.

Scott Patrick Moir was officially the dumbest idiot on earth.

“I really don’t know what happened. One minute I had the number in my hand, and the next it had disappeared,” he started, pouring his heart out to his old mentor and now great friend.

Four days ago, he had been seating in a taxi, holding to Tessa’s phone number for dear life. He had put it in his coat pocket when the taxi had parked in front of his apartment building and he had retrieved his suitcase before heading to his place. As soon as he had opened his door, he had rushed to the kitchen, not bothering to take off his coat. He wanted to text Tessa as soon as he could. When he had sat on his kitchen stool though, his message already made up in his head, the piece of paper on which the number was written was gone! He had lost Tessa’s phone number like a freaking idiot.

“Maybe you put it in another pocket and you just don’t remember?” Patrice tried and Scott sighed.

“No, I looked through all my pockets and all my bags. I looked in the hallway, the elevator and I went in the street outside in case I dropped it when I got of the taxi. I even called the taxi company, but, just like they told me, you probably already know that even if they had found a piece of paper, they wouldn’t have kept it.”

Patrice sent him an apologetic smile; “I’m sorry Scott. Have you tried Canada 411?”

Scott answered with a sad tone; “Yeah, but I didn’t find her. She probably didn’t want her number to be public. I tried looking for her company but I don’t know its name.”

“Maybe you’ll stumble upon her here in Montreal?” Patrice tried again.

“I doubt it. I was lucky enough to meet her in Austria,” he grunted, “I’m so mad I lost her number! Tessa was different from every other girl I ever met. I thought she and I could, I don’t know…” he trailed off, taking a sip of his beer.

Patrice’s silence encourager him to continue; “For the first time in my life I was very comfortable with a woman, you know. I found myself imaging a future with her, which is crazy because I’ve known her for like three days! But after we discussed everything about her ex and her fears, I really felt like she and I were on the same page. How could I lose her number?” he said, shaking his head in disappointment.

Good thing he hadn’t told his brothers about Tessa yet. It would have been something to take the teasing about meeting a girl, but adding the fact that he thought about her 24/7 while he didn’t even have a way of texting her? His brothers would have teased him to death.

“She probably thinks I’m no better than her ex. She probably hates me now. I tried to get her to agree to see me again and when she finally says yes, she never hears about me again.”

“I’m truly sorry Scott,” Patrice said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Scott was about to answer when a loud noise came from behind, interrupting them. He turned around, seeing the group of people who had made a noisy entry an hour or so before. They looked like a bunch of dick-ass privileged sons with expensive watches and thousand dollars’ suits; lawyers working for their daddies’ company probably. They seemed too drunk to remember their own names and one had just fallen of his chair, making his friends laugh out loud.

Scott was about to turn his attention away from the scene and back to his friend when something, rather someone, caught his eyes. It was a silhouette he knew too well and a raven haired head. It was her; Tessa, he would have recognized her anywhere.

But she had one of the dick-heads’ arm wrapped around her tensed shoulders.


	9. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What had she gotten herself into? Tessa wasn't having a good time at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!
> 
> Hopefully this time these two idiots can get it right :) 
> 
> Enjoy!

Tessa wasn’t having a good time at all.

It was her and James’s first outing as a “couple”, trying to convince his colleagues that he was worthy of making partner at the firm. However, since the very first moment she had sat at the table of the pub, she knew it was also probably their last night out together.

James’ colleagues had invited them in a crowded pub in downtown Montreal to celebrate one of the senior partners’ newest win. Tessa, who was a woman of word, had agreed to accompany James when he had called to invite her because it was Friday night and she had nothing better to do.

A week ago, she had given her phone number to Scott when they were still in Linz. Before they had parted ways, he had promised to call and had hinted at a date she had been looking forward to. There had been talks of dinner downtown and skating at the rink, something that sounded absolutely romantic. Scott had told her he was getting back to Montreal on Monday and that he would call as soon as he would be home, but she had never heard from him; not a call, not even a text to tell her he had changed his mind.

She felt so stupid for believing in him! She really had thought that he was different. She thought he deserved a chance. She thought he was the complete opposite from James, but it seemed they were more alike than she had initially imagined. Men were all the same. 

She regretted letting down the walls she had so carefully built around her heart after her most recent break up. They had been up for a reason; she didn’t want to get hurt. She would have made them even higher if she had known. 

So, wanting to forget the fresh wound left by Scott’s actions, or lack of actions thereof, Tessa had accepted James’ offer to go out with his colleagues. If she could at least help him, she thought she’d feel a little better about herself. 

She regretted that too though. James’ colleagues, whom she had met a few times when they were still dating for real months ago, were exactly like her ex-boyfriend; arrogant privileged sons of powerful men. They were people who thought they deserved everything they wanted and that they were above everyone else; the exact kind of people Tessa despised. 

James colleagues more mostly male and only a few of them had actually brought their girlfriends or their wives; girls with whom Tessa knew she’d never get along, all fake and talking only about manicures and spa. 

Everybody had had way too much to drink except her. When James’ friends had first walked into the pub an hour or so before, they were already tipsy. Judging by the amount of empty beer pitches in front of them, Tessa could only guess that their state had worsened. 

She felt so ashamed of sitting with all of them. They were loud and obnoxious, giving dirty stares to every woman under forty that passed by their table and letting out disgusting cat calls whenever their waitress came by. Tessa had tried to apologize to the poor woman, but it seemed like she didn’t want her apology, probably thinking that Tessa was at fault for associating to such assholes. 

What had she gotten herself into? A week before she was in Linz, chatting with Scott Moir and fantasizing about maybe having a relationship with him once she’d be back in Montreal. Days later, she was stuck in a stuffy pub with the unwelcome weight of James’ arm around her shoulders. 

When one of James’ drunk friend, Cole, fell of his chair and all their table erupted in laughter, Tessa had enough of it. James’ arm felt like a boulder pressing her down, there was not enough air in the crowed corner where she sat and the group with whom she was made her ashamed. Plus, she couldn’t stop thinking about why Scott had never called her. She needed to get out, get fresh air and clear her head. 

She stood up abruptly, shaking James’s arm off her shoulders. He caught her by the wrist, holding her too tight; “Where are you going Tess?” he asked through gritted teeth. She knew he wasn’t pleased with how she had behaved throughout the night. She was acting like she wanted nothing more than to run away from him. She had first flinched when he had put his arm around her and she hadn’t even try to make conversation with anyone. She simply sat, ate her burger, sipped at her cheap white wine and starred at her lap, not pretending to look slightly interested. 

After only one night out with him, she knew she couldn’t keep her promise to help. When James had called, sounding so broken at the prospect of disappointing his parents, she had felt pity for him, pushing her to agree to his schemes. But after seeing James in person for the first time in months, she had remembered just how bad of a person he was. He didn’t deserve her help. 

“I’m going to the bathroom, that’s all,” she said to James before shaking her wrist free of his tight grip. 

He eyed her warningly but she decided to ignore him and she stormed off in the direction of the restrooms. 

The pub was situated in a hotel complex and the restrooms were outside of the pub. Following the directions on the walls, Tessa headed towards the hotel lobby, the glass doors of the pub closing behind her and engulfing the loud voices of the customer to let place to the silence. She let out a relieved sigh. The contrast between the dark stuffy atmosphere of the pub and the white walls and pale grey marble tiles of the floor in the hotel hallway was welcome. Tessa embraced the calm with open arms. She felt like she could finally breath freely for the first time of the night. Her heels clicked on the floor as she made her way to the restroom and they were the only sound reverberating around her for a few seconds until she heard the door of the pub open, the brouhaha of tipsy revelers filling her ears once again. It died down fast as the door closed.

“Tessa!” She heard her name being called and she froze in place. She knew that voice. It belonged to a man whom had hurt her too. 

She wasn’t ready to face him, not after the night she was having. So she tried to pretend like she hadn’t heard him and hurried her pace to get to the ladies room; a safe territory. 

“Tessa wait!” she heard once more. There was no need pretending like she hadn’t heard him, the rest of the building was particularly silent. She turned around, taking in a big breath.

“What do you want Scott?” she asked sharply, immediately regretting her choice of tone as she saw his face decompose. Still, he was the one who hadn’t called. She had every right to be mad. 

“I’m sorry,” she tried again, “I’m just not having a really good night”

Scott looked at her, but she adverted his gaze. She didn’t want his apology. There was nothing he could say that would make her feel better. He had betrayed her when she had given him a chance at his insistence. 

“You seemed pretty cozy with that guy though. I’m surprised you already made a boyfriend and yet it took me everything to get your number. You know, if you weren’t interested you could have just said so.” Scott accused her, looking a little disappointed.

Tessa couldn’t believe it. He was the one who never called and yet he gave himself the right to be mad at her for going out with someone else? It was ridiculous. 

“What? You’re the one who never called me! Did you expect me to wait for you?” Tessa said, not bothering to explain who James was and why she was there with him. She was having the worst night and she just wanted to get back home. She certainly didn’t want to start fighting with Scott on top of everything.

“Tessa, I never called because I lost your number! Not because I didn’t want to! Certainly not because I didn’t want to!” he protested, taking Tessa by surprise.

“What?” she asked, confused.

“I lost your number, that’s why I never called. I looked for you everywhere on the internet but I couldn’t find anything. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now, I see you’re already over it. I just wanted things to be clear between us. I didn’t want you to believe I was the kind of guy I’m not. Good night Tessa,” Scott said, already heading back inside the pub.

“Wait! Scott!” Tessa called, her heart beating fast. So he really wanted to call her? He wasn’t like James after all. He was really far from being like James. He had made the effort of explaining himself to her even after seeing her with another guy. And he didn’t want to pressure her into giving him another chance. He was accepting the fact that she was with someone else. 

But that the other problem; she wasn’t with James. It was just pretending, but he didn’t know that. Why, oh why had she agreed to James’ dishonest schemes? 

“It’s alright Tessa. I won’t bother you again. Have fun with your date,” Scott said, looking at the ground.

Tessa bit her lip. She wanted to tell him everything, but she was scared of what he would think of her, agreeing to help her ex lie to his colleagues for a promotion. What kind of person she was? Yes, she had first agreed out of sympathy for him, but after taking the time to think about it, she was realizing that it was not her best idea, not at all. She wasn’t a liar. 

She shook her head. “I’m sorry,” was all she managed to say. No words seemed to be right enough to explain herself. 

“Yeah well I’m sorry too. I won’t bother you again,” Scott stated before disappearing back in the pub and leaving Tessa alone. The silence that was once welcome seemed to suddenly crush her. She had left for the bathroom to get air, but she was once again suffocating. She needed cold crisp autumn air and fast.

She all but ran outside the hotel, pushing the glass doors with force. Once the night breeze finally hit her, she collapsed on a nearby bench, drained.

She was thirty years old and once again, her love life was absolutely a mess. 

“Tessa? What the hell are you doing? The guys are all making fun of me, saying that you don’t seem to be enjoying yourself and that I must be a shitty boyfriend. Get back in there and act like a real girlfriend for god’s sake!” James said as he came storming outside. His intoxicated state made him raise his voice in a slightly scary manner. Tessa looked at him, stunned; what the hell had she seen in him before? 

“No, I’m going home,” Tessa said, barely looking at him. She was going to call a taxi and head back to her apartment. She didn’t want to go back inside, to spend the night lying to people and pretending to enjoy herself under Scott’s scrutinizing glance. 

“What? No! Come back inside right now!” James asked, his haggard eyes round in anger.

Tessa stood her ground; “I said no!” 

Her words only seemed to make James even more pissed than he already was; “Listen Tessa, we have an agreement! You get back in there and pretend like you love me”

He took her wrist back in his tight grip, hurting her a little; “Come on now,” he commanded.

“Let go of me!” Tessa protested, trying to wriggle free. 

“No, you have a job to do,” he said, dragging her a little towards the door of the pub.

But Tessa was strong, she dug her heels in the ground and resisted; “I won’t go inside! And I won’t help you anymore! Now let go of me!”

“No! You said you’d help and you will. I need you Tessa,” James growled.

“She said to let go of her,” a deep voice said calmly, coming from the entrance of the pub.

Tessa turned around, half relieved and half mortified to find Scott at the door of the pub, eyeing the scene.

James rolled his eyes; “This is none of your business dude! Now come on babe,” he added, putting emphasis on the “babe”.

“No. I’m staying here,” Tessa repeated for the umpteenth time that night. 

“You know what? I don’t care! I don’t even need you, I’ll make partner by myself,” James finally gave up before letting go of her wrist and disappearing inside the pub, back to his idiot friends and their puerile jokes. 

Tessa rubbed her red wrist, wincing in pain. This was ridiculous. 

“Are you okay Tess?” Scott asked from the entrance of pub, his voice soft. He seemed hesitant to approach her, but gone was the resentment he seemed to have towards her earlier in the night. 

She sighed and sat back on the bench, purposefully looking away from him. “I’m good,” she lied through her teeth even though she just wanted to hide under her covers for days and forget the whole night had ever happened. 

She felt him come closer to her and he sat on the bench next to her; “Tess, what was that? I saw you through the window. Is, is it really how you let your boyfriend treat you? You deserve so much better”

Tessa sighed. She owed him at least a semblance of an explanation. She looked down at her lap; “He’s my ex-boyfriend actually. He called last weekend, asking for my help,” she took in a big breath before continuing; “He called and told me that lawyers need to prove that they are committed to their family and other stuff to make partner so he asked me if I could pretend we were still dating, at least until he received his promotion. He sounded so broken on the phone and I know how his father would be disappointed if he didn’t succeed.”

“Tess…” Scott began, but she didn’t let him interrupt her. 

“I said yes. I just wanted to help, but I had forgotten how much I hated his colleagues. And I couldn’t take his arm around me and his friends’ dirty jokes. I needed air so I went to the bathroom. That’s when you found me in the hotel. When you told me that you lost my number and that you did want to call, I felt like I screwed everything. I couldn’t go back in the pub and so I got outside. James wasn’t happy, saying I was making him look bad but I don’t care. He doesn’t need me for that. After I’ve seen him behave tonight, I no longer want to help him.” 

“Oh Tess, you should have told me earlier,” he said, taking her hand in his. 

She shrugged; “You seemed so disappointed in me,” 

“I’m sorry. I just, I spent the whole week being mad at myself for losing your number so to see you with someone else so fast, it really hurt.”

Tessa nodded and the silence engulfed them for a few minutes.

“How about we start over?” Scott asked suddenly, grinning.

“What?”

“Hi, I’m Scott Moir.” He said, extending his hand.

Tessa smiled before taking his hand in hers. 

“And I’m Tessa Virtue” 

Minutes later, she had yet to let go of his hand.


	10. A Sky Full of Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if they didn’t find anything to talk about?   
> What if he talked too much and annoyed Tessa?   
> What if in ordinary life they found out they weren’t compatible?   
> What if it was only the adventure that had made them grow close?   
> What if without the craziness they got bored?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> Chapter 10 finally got written! Life is simply crazy and I now spend the majority of my free time watching cheesy christmas movies so blame them for the lateness of this update :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy the much awaited first date between Tessa and Scott!

Scott had never been more nervous in his entire life.

He had woken up at 5 that morning, his body refusing to return back to sleep once the nerves had first woken him up. He was way too excited at the prospect of the day he had ahead of him. 

He had everything all planned out and this time, nothing; no storms, no wrong train, no scheming ex-boyfriend, was going to ruin it. He and Tessa were going to have the perfect night out together; the exact same night he had been picturing ever since he had sat on an airport stool next to a beautiful raven haired stranger. 

He had been preparing for his and Tessa’s date for days. 

He had first started by booking a table for two at Foxy’s days ago, making sure their best table was secured for them, and had called Marie and Patch to make sure he and Tessa would get the rink all to themselves afterwards. 

Once the setting of their date had been set, the other thing he had also really needed to do was finding an outfit. He had spent countless hours looking at his clothes the night preceding their date, not able to choose. He had ended calling his cousin Cara, in desperate need of both fashion advice and reassurance that everything would go well and that he wouldn’t screw it up. He needed everything to be perfect; from the weather to his clothing style. 

So when the day of their date came, Scott was too nervous to sleep. 

After he took his morning coffee, Scott took out his phone and looked through his messages, realizing with a smile that Tessa had texted him a few minutes before.

“Can’t wait to see you tonight” she had written with an awful lot of different smiley emojis. 

Scott smiled to himself. He wasn’t exactly the texting type, had never been, but ever since he and Tessa had exchanged their phone numbers outside of the pub a week ago, they had never stopped sharing what happened in their daily lives or sending each other cute pictures of jokes. Scott was growing to love texting, especially, if not solely, with Tessa. 

“Don’t forget your skates” Scott replied with a carefully chosen emoji. Tessa sent him thousands of them, but he was just learning how to use them. 

They exchanged a few more pleasantries until they said each other goodbye, both needing time to prepare for the night.

Scott first took some time to clean his apartment, just in case. He didn’t think anything would happen on the first night, but maybe, if everything went well, he’d get bold enough to invite Tessa over for coffee and to talk some more. If it happened, he didn’t want her to stumble upon dirty dishes in the sink or a little coat of dust above his fridge. Granted, the odds that Tessa would notice dust on top of his fridge were really low, but he didn’t want to take any chance. After all, what were the odds that he’d meet her coincidentally so many times, eh? So he dusted everything, passed the vacuum, tidied up his bathroom and made sure nothing was laying around his apartment, just in case.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, Scott running everywhere from the dry cleaning to the hairdresser. When he was done, he went to the rink to set everything up. 

When he finally had time to breath, he had less than 30 minutes before he needed to go; just enough time to hop in the shower before throwing on his clothes and driving the short distance towards Tessa’s apartment, because, of course, they lived nearby. The universe had apparently been dead-set on having them meet somehow. 

As he rang the bell at Tessa’s, he took in a big breath, drying his sweaty hands on his dress pants as he waited for her nervously.

When Tessa opened the door, he was suddenly breathless. She stood in front of him in the prettiest dress he had ever seen. Tessa was always beautiful, but the simple dark blue dress she had chosen for their date was simply breath-taking. 

“Wow, wow,” he stuttered, smiling at her; “You look amazing,” 

Remembering he had come bearing a gift, Scott handed her a bouquet of flowers, apologizing for having hold on to them a little too tightly. He had gone to the florist during the day, remembering that Tessa had told him how she loved to always have a bouquet of fresh flowers to decorate her home. She especially loved pink peonies, so it was what he had gotten for her. 

“Here, to brighten you house,” Scott smiled.

Tessa looked at him, beaming; “Peonies, my favourite! You remembered?” she asked, a surprised expression gracing her features.

Scott nodded, “Of course I did. I remember everything you tell me,” he reassured her. 

“Nobody ever brought me flowers,” Tessa smiled shyly.

“Well, I promise you to make up for it,” Scott smiled, realizing once again what a dumb ass Tessa’s ex-boyfriend had been. If he had been the one dating Tessa all that time, she would have been showered in flowers. Not every day, but not just on special occasions, just when he would see particular bouquets that made him think of her. 

“You don’t have to,” she shook her head, looking down.

“I know, but I want too,” he reassured her. 

“Let me put them in a vase and I’m good to go,” Tessa said, squeezing his hand   
as a way to say thank you. 

When she was done, Scott helped her to put on her coat before escorting her to his car where he opened the door for her. They drove in comfortable silence to Foxy’s, Scott looking at Tessa with the corner of his eyes. He couldn’t believe they were finally having their date. 

When they arrived, Scott let his keys to the valet and they both walked inside where they were accompanied to a small table in the back of the restaurant. 

They sat in silence and looked at the menus. As he was scanning through his different options, Scott was suddenly filled with dread and a semblance of panic. 

What if they didn’t find anything to talk about? What if he talked too much and annoyed Tessa? What if in ordinary life they found out they weren’t compatible? What if it was only the adventure that had made them grow close? What if without the craziness they got bored? 

“Hum, what, what’s your favorite color?” he found himself asking before he had time to think. 

“Huh?” Tessa asked, taking her eyes off the menu and looking at him as if he had grown two heads.

“Your color, your favorite color? What is it?” he repeated, his cheeks burning as he felt stupid for asking such an insignificant question.

“Hum, I don’t know, dark purple I guess? Or blush pink? I don’t really know. I love all the colors I guess,” she said, chuckling.

“Oh, ok. Hum, you, you have a pet?” he asked, thinking it might be a better question than the color one. Still not the best though. Come on Moir, do better, he thought. 

“Hum, I have a cat, its name is tutu,” Tessa said, looking at him with a soft smile, “Scott, are we playing 20 questions and I don’t know?” 

Scott blushed even more. He felt like he was ruining it all. That was why he didn’t date; he was bad at it. “I don’t, I, sorry no, I just wanted to know you more,” he mumbled, hiding behind his menu and hoping Tessa would forget about his dating faux-pas. 

But she didn’t, and he heard her chuckle; “Alright, I agree with that; we need to get to know each other more, but let’s not make it a police interrogation shall we?” she joked. 

Scott, still hiding behind his menu, rubbed at his neck nervously. It seemed like he was making things worse no matter what he was doing; “I, alright, let’s just order…” he trailed off.

“Scott,” Tessa said, but he didn’t answer.

He felt so stupid. With all the efforts he had put towards the preparation of their date, he had forgotten to write a list of topics they should talk about and to practice smooth ways to introduce the subject. 

“Scott,” he heard Tessa repeat, and he felt the menu being taken away from his grasp. 

“I’m nervous too you know,” Tessa said to him. 

He looked at her; “What? I’m not nervous,” he lied.

Tessa smiled soflty; “Of course you are. We both are. It’s, it’s our first date. But you don’t need to ask me my favourite color or if I have a pet. We spent days talking to each other back in Austria without running out of topics to talk about. I doubt that just because we’re seating in a restaurant in Montreal, that it’s going to be different.” 

Scott smiled, relieved; “Sorry, I, I’ll stop interrogating you,” he laughed softly. “I just, I so want this to work,” he replied honestly. “I guess I panicked a little.”

“If you had heard me on the phone with my sister this afternoon,” Tessa replied, “I was going crazy and I’m sure that if she had been physically there, Jordan would have shaken me.”

Scott laughed. He had been wrong to have doubts. He and Tessa had nothing to worry about. They were going to be just fine. 

They spent the rest of the diner chatting about everything and nothing. Their family, skating, their work, their vision of the future, everything, and they didn’t even need a list. 

Once they were both to full to take another bite, Scott paid the check and they headed towards the rink. The best part of the night was ahead of them, or so he hoped. 

He had spent a good part of the day making sure everything would be perfect and he hoped Tessa would love it.

He parked the car outside the rink right by the door since they were alone at that time of the night and he used the key Marie-France had left him to unlock the doors.

Inside, everything was pitched dark. He knew the way to the rink like the back of his hand so, taking Tessa’s hand in his, he led her to the ice, not switching the lights on.

“Scott, can we turn the lights on? I’m going to crash into something with how clumsy I can be,” Tessa laughed.

Scott squeezed her hand; “Nope, it’s a surprise. Come on, stand right here,” he said taking her by the shoulders to position her just in front of the door. He made her step onto the ice with her shoes on and let go of her. “I’m coming back in just a second,” he said, leaving the ice.

“Scott?” he heard Tessa call his name nervously and he almost felt bad for leaving her alone in the dark like that, but he knew she would forgive him. 

He made his way silently to the light swtich and turned it on in a swift moment. In an instant, the whole rink was illuminated by thousands of twinkling lights. It was as if the whole ceiling was covered with stars. He had to say, he was really proud of what he had done.

He knew Tessa appreciated the gesture when he heard her gasp. “Oh my god Scott! It’s, it’s incredible, it’s… I can’t believe you did all this! You did all this, right?”

“I thought that after all the chaos, we deserved a perfect night,” Scott smiled, joining Tessa on the ice. 

“You did all this, for me?” Tessa repeated, looking at him with the twinkling lights reflecting in her gorgeous green eyes, it was as if they were full of stars. She had never been prettier. 

He nodded, facing Tessa and taking her hands in his; “I did all this for us,”

Tessa smiled, “Thank you,” she said, encircling his neck with her arms and standing on her tiptoes to be eye-level with him.

Scott put his hands on her hips, looking down at her lips.

He saw her lick her lips in return and he took it as an invitation. He slowly inched his mouth closer to Tessa’s and stopped just when their foreheads touch. He could feel Tessa’s hot breath caressing his skin.

“Is it alright if I kiss you?” he whispered.

He felt Tessa nodding and that was all he needed before he captured her lips with his. 

As he melted in their kiss, her sweet flavour mingling with his, his breath got caught in his throat. It hit him, right there, in the middle of their first kiss; he was in love with Tessa Virtue.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, short, short ending to this story that I should have completed a while ago, but The Mistletoe Promise and my Christmas spirit kept me pretty busy ;) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this conclusion to this story!
> 
> See you soon with new ideas!

In the end, saying yes and agreeing to a date with Scott had been Tessa’s best decision.

She had had a tormented love life before him, with James and two or three other guys who weren’t even worth mentioning, and even though her relationship with Scott had started in the most complicated manner, four years later she was proud to say that they had a steady relationship and she could only imagine it would keep getting better.

What Scott had feared at first, that they wouldn’t be able to work without the roller coaster their trip to Austria had brought, had turned out to be completely false. Their ordinary life was calm, no drama, no wrong train, no storms, and it was perfect that way. 

Tessa had found in Scott everything she had always been looking for without knowing. He supported her work at the company, a company that was expanding every day, and she was always there to cheer on whenever one of his skaters performed at a competition, international or local.

As she sat in the bleachers of the Beijing arena, the crowd cheering all around and waving Canadian flags for Laura and Xavier, Scott’s two most successful skaters and serious contenders for an Olympic medal, she fidgeted with the ring on her finger nervously, an habit she had gotten since she and Scott had said I do a little more than a year before. 

The four minutes that lasted their program passed in a blur, elements all executed perfectly and Tessa watched her husband with pride as he seemed to be completely absorbed by his students’ performance, his movements by the boards matching the ones of his skaters on the ice. 

As Laura and Xavier came to an halt on center ice, freezing in their ending pose, the whole arena erupted in cheers, people standing on their feet and applauding what could very well be the winning performance. 

Tessa stood up too with difficulty, the little girl growing in her belly had appreciated the performance too and was kicking her with energy. She giggled and put a loving hand to her stomach before waving proudly at Scott.

There was nowhere else she’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked it! Please let me know what you thought of it, your comments feed my imagination ;)


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